Expert tips agribusiness entrepreneurs on competitiveness

By Vision Reporter

Attaining competitiveness in agribusiness requires taking steps into formalising enterprises and aligning them to the modern dynamic systems of marketing in order to realise sustainable growth, an expert has observed.

Joseph Nkandu, an agribusiness development consultant and a social entrepreneur noted that many agro-based enterprises are rendered less competitive because proprietors tend to ignore the fact that the fundamentals of managing agribusiness enterprises are not different from other forms of business management.

“Running sustainable agribusiness enterprises must take the same trend like other businesses that require formalisation and intensive marketing; it doesn’t matter whether one is in farming or value addition, steps must be taken to register your business, pay government taxes to attain what it takes to compete for business,” he said.

He was speaking during the inaugural bi-annual agribusiness clinic that brings together beneficiaries (incubatees) under the Consortium for enhancing University Responsiveness to Agribusiness Development (CURAD) incubation facility.

Nkandu, also the executive director National Union of Coffee Agribusinesses and Farm Enterprises (NUCAFE) advised young players in the agribusiness industry to develop unique and dynamic agribusiness plans good enough to attract technical and financial support from government, local and international organisations.

The role of embracing agricultural value chain systems

CURAD managing director Apollo Segawa noted that a brighter future of Uganda’s agriculture can be secured through encouraging farmers to embrace agricultural value chain systems that involve agro-processing.

“Uganda’s economy can’t avoid relying on agriculture given its role in mitigating household poverty and food insecurity, we need the sector to have a more significant contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) because it (agricultural sector) employs the largest fraction of local population,” he said.

Agriculture contributes at least 30% to GDP and 30% to export earnings, yet it engages 70% of the population, thus the need to engage those 70% to contribute more to the economy.

He said that this year, CURAD registered successes in pushing for modern agribusiness incubation initiatives, the recent one being a partnership under which the Uganda Investment Authority mandated CURAD to set up and manage a modern incubation facility at Kampala Industrial Park Namanve to boost SMEs involved in agricultural value chain.

CURAD was established out of a partnership of Makerere University, National Agricultural Research Organisation and The National Union for Coffee Agribusiness and Farm Enterprises to shape the agriculture curriculum into empowering students with value addition and marketing skills, a strategy that is further expanded deep into the private agricultural Small and Medium Enterprises.