By Herbert Musoke and Joshua Kato
Collaboration is a strength exemplified by Asili Agriculture, which partners with small-scale to large entrepreneur farmers, transforming their organisation into one of the largest producers of maize and beans in Uganda and East Africa.
With its community empowerment model, Asili collaborates with 15,000 farmers, producing over 30,000 metric tonnes annually, and employing over 900 people across various departments.
Patrick Katungi, the producer services manager at Asili Agriculture, oversees a business unit that provides production, marketing, and financial support to both small-scale and enterprise producers.
“Our team equips the farming community and key food system stakeholders with technical skills, tools, and services to foster a thriving agricultural sector. We aim at catalysing a more equitable, resilient, and regenerative food system,” he explains.
He emphasises the need for innovation in response to climate change, delivering integrated agricultural land management and marketing solutions that empower farmers and food system stakeholders to enhance profitability, resilience, and nutritional sustainability.
Asili agriculture’s origins
Benjamin Prinz, the co-founder and managing director of Asili Agriculture, recounts its beginnings rooted in the challenge of sourcing high-quality maize and feed ingredients for a piggery farm established to support a nearby school for orphans in 2009.
“As a volunteer at the school, my friend and I set up the piggery farm to generate income for food and support vulnerable children,” he recalls.
However, unreliable suppliers and volatile prices posed significant challenges.
Recognising similar issues faced by food buyers across East Africa, they developed a solution in 2013 — a supply chain that purchases, aggregates, stores, and sells grain to diverse customers, including animal feed processors, food manufacturers, and humanitarian organisations.
Expansion and sustainability
To ensure a consistent supply, Asili ventured into farming in 2014, initially acquiring 45acres. Today, their operations span over 15,000 acres across five farms, heavily mechanised with tractors, harvesters, planters, and modern grain storage facilities.
Prinz underscores their commitment to adopting smart agricultural practices amidst climate challenges, such as no-till farming, reduced pesticide and herbicide use, and minimal synthetic fertiliser application, aiming for sustainable food production.
Supporting small-scale farmers
Besides their own farming activities, Asili provides land management services to small and medium farmers, assisting them in adopting agricultural decision-making processes and mechanisation for sustainability and profitability.
Through partnerships with farmers andthe Agri-Market Systems of Africa platform, Asili exports produce to broader markets, enhancing market access for small-scale producers.
Best agronomic practices
Andrew Baluku, a farmer transformation agent at Asili, highlights their emphasis on no-till systems to preserve soil structure and moisture, reduce erosion, and manage costs effectively.
Crop rotation, utilising soya beans as a nitrogen-fixing crop, and using crop residues as mulch are integral to their approach, boosting productivity and profitability.
Value addition, processing
Asili Agriculture collects and processes its own produce along with that of associated outgrowers in Kiryandongo and Masindi districts.
The organisation utilises destoning and grain sorting facilities, ensuring quality control before storage in aluminum silos.
Martin Onedo, a warehouse technician, details their meticulous process of grain cleaning and storage to maintain quality and readiness for market distribution.
Out-growers
Asili Agriculture integrates an out-growers’ system to maximise production and facilitate bulk sourcing.
According to Katungi, they collaborate with Village Transformation Entrepreneurs (VTEs) or village agents who identify and support potential farmers.
Currently, there are 10 VTEs, each capable of supporting up to 200 acres, equivalent to about 100 farmers, though currently, each VTE supports approximately 50 farmers. They receive a 10% commission on every input sale they facilitate.
“The selected farmers undergo training by Farmer Transformation Agents (FTAs) who are agronomists employed by the company. This training spans the entire production value chain, covering land preparation, seed selection, weeding, pest and disease management, harvest, and post-harvest handling, aimed at enhancing production and productivity,” he explains.
The entire process is facilitated through a digital application that registers farmers, maps their farms, and facilitates input loans following verification.
Eligible farmers must possess at least an acre of land and reside in the area. Repeat farmers must not have outstanding loan balances from previous seasons.
“For enterprise producers, we oversee the entire production process using our own machinery— from land preparation and seed selection to spraying, harvesting, and storage. Meanwhile, for small-scale producers, our focus is on production support, access to finance, and market access,” he adds.
Financial support
Regarding financial assistance, Katungi elaborates that small-scale producers receive input support on credit, repaying the loans at harvest time.
Upon harvest, Asili Agriculture pays a premium price for the produce, thereby relieving farmers of the burden of finding a market.
VTEs and FTAs play a crucial role in ensuring that farmers adhere to East African quality standards throughout the production cycle — from land preparation and seed selection to weed management and beyond. Regular monitoring ensures farmers receive timely advice on optimising their crop yields.
“We trade 40,000 tonnes of maize grain and soya beans annually across East Africa,” he emphasised.
He explained that the company procures grade one grain. If a farmer’s grain doesn’t meet this standard, they connect them with partners, particularly those who deal with East African grade 2 and 3 products.
To ensure a stable and ready market for the grain, the company has recently partnered with financial institutions to offer trade aggregation loans to traders. Since agricultural production relies entirely on rainfall, the company has begun collaborating with insurance firms.
This partnership protects farmers from complete losses in cases of dry spells. Furthermore, the company is developing a digital marketplace that integrates various value chain actors, such as input retailers, commodity buyers, suppliers, financial institutions, and carbon retailers, facilitating seamless transactions.
“With this platform, we aim at addressing the hesitancy of financial institutions to support agricultural businesses by providing necessary data to support the value chain actors,” he added.
Regarding their main achievements, Prinz highlighted their success in establishing a robust market for grains.
“Our system ensures both quality and quantity, which are essential for sustaining markets,” he emphasised.
As a result, over 15,000 farmers are now earning good income from their farms.
Outgrowers’ experiences
Isaac Lamwa would harvest four to seven bags of maize grain per acre, a significantly low yield compared to the 17 bags he now harvests, thanks to improved agronomic practices.
“I began maize farming in 2014, but my yields were consistently low due to poor agronomic practices. However, after partnering with Asili Agriculture, I received training in best practices such as planting hybrid seeds, applying fertiliser, timely planting, and effective weed control,” Lamwa explains.
He started with four acres, using bazooka maize seeds provided on loan, which performed exceptionally well.
The seeds had a high germination rate, and from an acre where he previously harvested four to seven bags, he now gathers 17 weighing about 100kg each.
“For the subsequent season, I planted Long 10 maize with a 100% germination rate across 10 acres, resulting in a harvest of about 180 bags. With this income, I purchased a plot and built my house, bought two additional acres (since I had been using company land), paid my children’s school fees, and I am now financially stable without needing loans,” he elaborates.
Apart from seeds, Asili also trained the outgrowers in improved land preparation techniques: instead of traditional cultivation, they now slash, spray to kill weeds, and dig holes for planting. During weeding, they use selected herbicides.
“If we were to rely on labourers for weeding, it would cost between sh60,000 and sh80,000. However, I can spray over three acres in a day, whereas weeding an acre manually takes about a week with five labourers. This approach saves both time and money,” he adds.
Peter Satosi fled South Sudan with his family in 2016 and settled in Panyandoli Refugee Camp, Bweyale-Kiryandongo district, where he turned to farming for income.
“In the refugee camp, we are allocated small plots for food cultivation and income generation. Initially, I faced challenges with inputs due to lack of funds,” he says.
However, he is now delighted with the increase in productivity on his two-acre plot, from seven bags of maize per acre to 37, thanks to support from Asili Agriculture.
“I have built a house with a store, established a salon, a retail shop, and a football viewing hall where people pay to watch the Premier League. These ventures have significantly boosted my income,” he shares.
Betty Oyera, the village transformation entrepreneur at the camp, explains that refugees have been practising agriculture on allocated land, but have struggled due to poor-quality inputs, pests, diseases, and inadequate storage.
“We chose to work with refugees to empower them and the host communities. We provided training in soil management, fertiliser application, crop and pest management, and post-harvest handling to ensure quality from farm to plate,” she concludes.
Working with partners
The Strategic Investment Activity (SIA) is an integral part of the Feed the Future project funded by the United States Agency for International Development, administered through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries.
Its goal is to enhance agricultural productivity and profitability in Uganda by promoting private sector investments and increasing Ugandan participation in agricultural markets through a market system approach.
SIA facilitates both foreign and domestic commercial investments that align with and promote development objectives.
The initiative also mobilises financing for investments in agriculture, food security, the productive use of energy for agriculture, and related industries.
Prinz expresses appreciation for the partnership with SIA, which has been instrumental in establishing a financial system.
This system has enabled them to attract external capital, which they invest in their own operations and the platform they have developed.
“Last year, we partnered with a local financial institution through SIA’s assistance. This partnership has allowed us to scale up services for small-scale farmers by facilitating direct lending to them, rather than through Asili,” he explains.
Furthermore, they have expanded their farming operations, optimising cash flow and accessing capital to acquire new machinery, thereby fostering business growth.
“SIA addresses a significant market challenge by empowering microfinance enterprises that we collaborate with to build capacity. This enables them to secure capital for business expansion, create employment opportunities, and enhance service provision,” he notes.
Challenges
Paul Murungi, who works in the producer services unit, explains the difficulties they face as coordinators of the Village Extension Teams.
One major challenge is convincing farmers to adopt company practices due to their ongoing financial constraints.
“We provide extensive support to these farmers so that once they receive seeds, their harvest meets our expectations,” he says.
Murungi notes that some farmers incur losses, particularly during the planting season when rodents damage the seeds, necessitating replanting.
“We consistently advise them on the importance of clearing their gardens thoroughly,” he adds.
LEAD PHOTO CAPTION: Robert Onyango, the public relations officer at Asili Agriculture showing the grain in the store.
