Grain council of Uganda of Uganda kick starts construction grain silos country wide

The grain council of Uganda has embarked on a country wide campaign of constructing grain silos, a move aimed at upholding grain standards for better markets.

This was revealed by the executive director of the grain council of Uganda, Wilfred Tembo at the launch of one of the silos in Namunkekera, Nakaseke districts.

The silo that will accommodate close to 200,000 kilograms of grain and is targeting 10,000 farmers was constructed by the grain council of Uganda in partnership with Grain Bulk handlers, a Kenya based company.

According to Tembo, a regional grain hub is a concentration of producers and processors of grain and other service providers within the value chain for the grain.

"We are aiming at serving 10,000 small holder farmers. Currently we stand at 6000 farmers in three groups, Kalagala, Nakaseke and processors association," said Tembo.

He added that in future, they plan to link such facilities to the National Network of Warehouse Receipt system Authority, such that when farmers deposit their grain, they get a receipt which can be presented to a financial institution as collateral to get credit.

The centers will also be linked to the National Commodity Exchange, an online market for grain to tap into the markets of South Sudan, Rwanda and Kenya which are the major gain markets for Uganda.

The Kapeeka regional grain hub is just one of 28 hubs across the country that the grain council is developing. Of these, six will be constructed this year.

By the end of the year, the council should have constructed silos in Lwengo-Rakai area, Kasese-Lubirizi, Masindi-Kiryandongo, Gulu and Nyoya.

Tembo added that with funding from Trade Mark East Africa, the grain hubs will offer services like cleaning, drying and storage among others.

The facilities will help farmer realize value from their grains so as to increase the prices from sh400 to at least sh700.