By Nelson Mandela Muhoozi
An Indian company has come up with a solution to store and market grain for farmers so that they can fetch higher prices.
Jaya Prakash, the international business head of Star Agri, said the ‘Digital Integrated Agri Marketing Systems’ will also link farmer to financing through issuing receipts that can be used as collateral when they go to banks for loans.
“The system will provide farmers with aggregation, storage, receipting and marketing services which are rampant issues across the grain value chain,” he said.
According to Prakash, the digital system will capture the data of farmers, cooperatives and processors, which will be accessed by insurance and financial institutions which will use it to assess the farmer’s creditworthiness while advancing financing.
Prakash added, “The system will also provide warehousing and receipting management services to farmers where farmers’ produce will be aggregated and marketed in big quantities to bid for better prices.” He said they are going to setup different warehouses around the country, but noted that they have started with the central region in Kampala.
He was speaking during the launch of the system today at Serena Hotel in Kampala, where Uganda Cooperative Alliance, Star Agri and Uganda Warehouse Receipt System Authority (UWRSA), also signed a memorandum of understanding to create an effective marketing system connected with a robust warehouse receipt system to benefit farmers in the agriculture sector.
System to eliminate middlemen.
Ivan Asiimwe, the General Secretary of the Uganda Cooperative Alliance (UCA), said that without digitalization, the issue of the middleman will prevail and the farmers will continue to suffer as the middlemen get produce from them at as less price as possible.
“If we don’t come together and aggregate and sell together, this vicious cycle will not end. We need this storage system to because it is a step forward innovation to eliminate the middle man,” he said.
Deborah Kyarasiime, the Managing Director of Uganda Warehouse Receipt System Authority (UWRSA), said through the system, financial access will be eased as farmers will be able to use the receipts issued to them as collateral.
“Also, the inefficiency that arises from the storage will be minimised by the Agri Marketing System up to 40 percent which saves the farmer’s resources,” Kyarasiime said.
She added, “The system will link the farmers to all the buyers in the market. We are talking about unifying the market system and availing information to everyone in the agriculture chain. This will eliminate the issue of farmers trying to quickly sell their produce due to lack of storage facilities.”
“Farmers will have multiple buyers bidding for their produce. It will provide a leveled playing field across the entire agriculture value chain as it will eliminate the middle man,” she said.
Educate farmers on aggregation.
Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Minister, Frederick Gume Ngobi who graced the occasion said some farmers are parting with maize at sh200 per kilogram, with traders even using faulty weighing scales.
“If we don’t go down to educate our farmer that you can cultivate individually but aggregate, store together, and get market together, then there will still be a missing link,” Gume said.
How the system works.
According to Prakash, the aggregation center will be the entire hub for all the farmers, where post-handling, receipting, and loan financing services will take place.
In the system, you can buy or sell. The buyers can put in their requests, and the farmers can also choose what price to sell their produce. Bidding takes place and the seller chooses the best price for their produce.
Tackling the aflatoxins problem.
Robert Mwanje, the Board Chairman of The Grain Council of Uganda said that poor storage facilities contribute greatly to the problem of aflatoxins.
He said the best way to fight the issue of aflatoxins is to improve the storage system. “When you store your produce well, you can be able to maintain the quality of your produce while you wait for a favourable price,” he said.
“Let’s not destroy the small market we have with our carelessness that stems from our poor storage facilities. Let’s popularise the Agri Marketing System to cooperative societies so that our farmers can use it,” he advised.
