By G. Asege
Kampala-Uganda
The Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) has announced the commencement of its 12th annual agribusiness expo as part of its significant step towards promoting agricultural innovation, collaboration, and sustainable practices.
Scheduled to take place on the 28th and 29th of June 2024 in Masindi district, this highly anticipated event is set to draw in a multitude of farmers from all across the region and the country at large.
During the expo, farmers are anticipated to engage with exhibitors who will be presenting enhanced agricultural technologies, grains, and experts well-versed in produce markets. Gerald Makau Masila, the Executive Director of EAGC, highlighted at the expo’s launch in Kampala that it will serve as a valuable platform for farmers to access marketing information.
“As EAGC we have marketing monitors that support the monitoring, that look at cross border trades flows, the prices of grains which we circulate to our members,” he noted.
He stressed that having access to pricing information is crucial for members to make informed decisions on whether to purchase or sell grain.
Working alongside partners, there will be numerous demonstration plots available to showcase different seeds, providing farmers with the opportunity to explore various solutions and technologies.
This will enable them to not only learn but also purchase imports, strengthening business-to-business connections.
Brenda Kwatampora, the Program Manager of Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), emphasized that their primary focus is to support wealth creation at the household level, with agriculture being a key strategy.
EAGC plays a vital role as one of their key strategic partners. “We are really gladly looking at providing tools to small hold farmers and also help Uganda and farmers to access markets since farmers can now afford the seedlings on their own. We shall continue to work with EAGC to ensure that there are sustainable inputs, the seedlings are of high quality and the grains are meeting the standards,” he added.
Cosmas Byaruhanga, the District Chairperson of Masindi, commended EAGC for selecting Masindi as the location for raising awareness about modern farming techniques and new agricultural technologies as this initiative will greatly benefited local farmers.
Masindi, much like other regions in the country, relies heavily on agriculture. The district has a population of approximately 4000 people spread across three constituencies, and its economy is primarily driven by the cultivation of maize and sugar cane.
“We look at this as a great opportunity for the district and farmers, through creating awareness and training farmers new farming methods and new agriculture technologies,” Byaruhanga noted.
Ian Figgins, the Head of Supply Chain at World Food Programme, emphasized the importance of sponsors being actively involved in fostering collaboration among multiple stakeholders in the food and agriculture sectors. He said this involves bringing together various parties and establishing virtual platforms for effective cooperation.
“Together everybody achieves more, so there are different aspects around food security that need attention to ensuring that the population and the refugees in Uganda have enough food to eat with sufficient quality and nutrition in order to be healthy,” he added.
He said Uganda possesses a significant potential to become a major food basket for East Africa and an exporting nation.
However, he stressed that it is crucial for the country to implement effective commodity management, stringent safety controls, and maintain high quality standards to successfully market its agricultural produce.
“We know that farming is linked very much to the private sector and we then look at food safety around Aflatoxins which is basically an invisible poison or fungi that can make foods unsafe to eat and barriers to trade. We want to avoid that and work together to develop Uganda’s economy,” Figgins noted.
He observed that in Uganda, 30% of the populace comprises small holder farmers who are actively collaborating with the commercial sector, traders, and buyers with the aim of exploring potential business models that the commercial sector can adopt to provide assistance and uplift them ( small holder farmers).
“We are looking for sustainable approaches based on commercial availability. There are many solutions to how we can work together to support the small hold farmers,” he added.
Anna Nabooza, the director of Trade Mark Africa in the country, highlighted the significance of the expo in terms of marketing.
She noted that EAGC is situated among other East African countries, which are the primary customers.
He added that this also enables to establish connections between farmers and the market.
“With these we shall ensure that you have the quantities to be able to trade up to the borders and then also there is food security because we know Uganda is largely producing foods,” she noted.
Nabooza emphasized the importance of farmers attending capacity building sessions in storage practices.
She also mentioned that the program will provide test kits for emergency grain quality testing.
“As Trade Mark Africa we want to ensure that the grains are free from aflatoxins to ensure that the food is clean because you might have the quantity but may not have the quality which hinders the food to cross the borders.” She said,
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