Kapchorwa gets a grain store
A huge grain store at last! This was very good news to Moses Kapere and his colleagues in the over 150 grain producing groups and farmer organisations in Eastern Uganda.
BY JOE NAM
A huge grain store at last! This was very good news to Moses Kapere and his colleagues in the over 150 grain producing groups and farmer organisations in Eastern Uganda.
“I have been growing maize for the last 15 years but lacked a place to properly store and dry them. With this warehouse, I am sure I will be able to cut down on my losses,†Kapere said.
Kapere is a member of the Kapchorwa Commercial Farmers Association (KACOFA) and one of the many farmers who turned up to witness the ground breaking ceremony of a huge grain store being constructed, with assistance of the US government.
The warehouse will hold up to 2000 tonnes of grain.
“This is a truly important step for Ugandan farmers,†said Jerry Lanier, the US ambassador to Uganda, who officially opened the grain store. “Many farmers in Uganda have been forced to remain at subsistence levels because they lack stores and access to markets.â€
“This assistance will help them store and sell more of their produce at international standards and thereby increase their incomes and improve their quality of life,†Lanier said.
Kapchorwa grain warehouse is the first of nine storage facilities that the World Food Programme plans to build in Uganda this year with funds from the US and other donors. One other warehouse is located in Gulu district and will be ready by April.
The fund will also be used to construct feeder roads to collect grain from remote villages and to help train farmers in handling food stuff after harvest.
Post harvest loss of foods stuff produced by subsistence farmers in Uganda is estimated at 40% of total harvest, a big loss that undermines food security and household level and the efforts to boost farmers incomes.
Stanlake Samkange, the country director, World Food Programme, said the support from the US will help the farmer groups meet the quality and quantity requirements of regional and international markets.
He added that this will also allow them to participate in the warehouse receipt system which facilitates the buying of produce directly from farmers.
The warehouse receipt system is a mechanism where “warehouse keepers†licensed by Uganda Commodities Exchange, store agricultural produce from farmer groups, traders and even processors, in public warehouses (at a fee).
The $6m store, opening in September in Kapchorwa, will be equipped with cleaning, drying, bagging, grading and quality control equipment. The warehouse has been developed in close collaboration with the Government.
The warehouse keeper issues the depositor with a legally tradable electronic receipt, a document of title verifying the quantity and quality of stored goods. The receipt can enable a depositor to obtain a bank loan. The keeper guarantees, to either hand over that exact quality and quantity of goods to whoever buys the “receiptâ€, or give it back to the depositor on request.
“In the past, some farmers have registered up to 40% post-harvest losses, with modern storage facilities such as this warehouse, we can now support post-harvest processing and provide safe custody for farmer group produce,†Samkange said.
Alex Rwego, the manager of the Uganda Commodity Exchange, said the warehouse system that the store will operate on, will strengthen commodity trading in Uganda and help farmers get easyaccess to big buyers such as the World Food Programme as well as financing for their activities.
A huge grain store at last! This was very good news to Moses Kapere and his colleagues in the over 150 grain producing groups and farmer organisations in Eastern Uganda.
“I have been growing maize for the last 15 years but lacked a place to properly store and dry them. With this warehouse, I am sure I will be able to cut down on my losses,†Kapere said.
Kapere is a member of the Kapchorwa Commercial Farmers Association (KACOFA) and one of the many farmers who turned up to witness the ground breaking ceremony of a huge grain store being constructed, with assistance of the US government.
The warehouse will hold up to 2000 tonnes of grain.
“This is a truly important step for Ugandan farmers,†said Jerry Lanier, the US ambassador to Uganda, who officially opened the grain store. “Many farmers in Uganda have been forced to remain at subsistence levels because they lack stores and access to markets.â€
“This assistance will help them store and sell more of their produce at international standards and thereby increase their incomes and improve their quality of life,†Lanier said.
Kapchorwa grain warehouse is the first of nine storage facilities that the World Food Programme plans to build in Uganda this year with funds from the US and other donors. One other warehouse is located in Gulu district and will be ready by April.
The fund will also be used to construct feeder roads to collect grain from remote villages and to help train farmers in handling food stuff after harvest.
Post harvest loss of foods stuff produced by subsistence farmers in Uganda is estimated at 40% of total harvest, a big loss that undermines food security and household level and the efforts to boost farmers incomes.
Stanlake Samkange, the country director, World Food Programme, said the support from the US will help the farmer groups meet the quality and quantity requirements of regional and international markets.
He added that this will also allow them to participate in the warehouse receipt system which facilitates the buying of produce directly from farmers.
The warehouse receipt system is a mechanism where “warehouse keepers†licensed by Uganda Commodities Exchange, store agricultural produce from farmer groups, traders and even processors, in public warehouses (at a fee).
The $6m store, opening in September in Kapchorwa, will be equipped with cleaning, drying, bagging, grading and quality control equipment. The warehouse has been developed in close collaboration with the Government.
The warehouse keeper issues the depositor with a legally tradable electronic receipt, a document of title verifying the quantity and quality of stored goods. The receipt can enable a depositor to obtain a bank loan. The keeper guarantees, to either hand over that exact quality and quantity of goods to whoever buys the “receiptâ€, or give it back to the depositor on request.
“In the past, some farmers have registered up to 40% post-harvest losses, with modern storage facilities such as this warehouse, we can now support post-harvest processing and provide safe custody for farmer group produce,†Samkange said.
Alex Rwego, the manager of the Uganda Commodity Exchange, said the warehouse system that the store will operate on, will strengthen commodity trading in Uganda and help farmers get easyaccess to big buyers such as the World Food Programme as well as financing for their activities.