In collaboration with the UN World Food Program (WFP) and the Ugandan Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries, and Fisheries, Feed the Future officially opened a new $1.4 million-dollar grain warehouse in Kapchorwa in February. The warehouse will allow small farmers to sell quality grain at fair prices in both local and regional markets.
The project was designed in coordination with Uganda’s National Development Plan and the Ministry of Agriculture’s Development Strategy and Investment Plan. It uses a warehouse receipt system, which enables licensed warehouse managers to clean, dry, grade, bag, and store grain received from farmers for a fee. Farmers get a receipt, verifying the quality and quantity of the stored grain, which they can then use to obtain bank loans to continue production. The warehouse is projected to benefit more than 150 producer organizations, consisting of 20 to 30 farmers each. The facility will be managed by the Kapchorwa Commercial Farmers Association.
WFP is the single-largest buyer of quality grain in Uganda under its Purchase for Progress (P4P) initiative, which links small farmers to domestic and regional markets. In addition to this warehouse, WFP has bought, renovated, and equipped storage facilities in Gulu, Kasese, Tororo and Soroti with the aim of helping the Government of Uganda create lasting food security.
In his remarks, U.S. Ambassador to Uganda Jerry P. Lanier said, “This is an important day for farmers, many of whom produce at subsistence levels due to a lack of infrastructure and poor access to markets. This warehouse and the concepts that manage it will help them get more of their products into better markets for a better price.”
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