AGAGO– Middlemen in Agago district have been accused of cheating the farmers with fake weighing scales.
It is alleged the middlemen are combing villages in search of grains like millet, sim-sim, sunflower, sorghum, and maize.
However, farmers claim the middlemen are cheating them by giving them less money since the businessmen are using fake weighing scales as they buy the farm produce.
Joel Kanusu Abala, a farmer in Lira – Kato Sub-county who grows sim-sim, says she is a victim of the business malpractice that has left many farmers suffering losses.
“Many farmers have been victims in the recent festivities as many sold to the middlemen to make ends meet on both Christmas and new-year celebrations,’’ he said.
He however faulted the Agago district commercial office for the failure to detect fake weighing scales.
“Imagine they buy your produce at a lower price but at the same time cheat you when weighing, not putting into account that a farmer labours a lot to put produce on market,’’ he said.
Jackson Orema, of Paimol village, a millet farmer, says the victims are mainly farmers in hard-to-reach areas.
“They take advantage of such farmers who they are sure cannot access any alternative market since transporting their produce is difficult,’’ he said.
However, when asked to respond to farmers’ claims of fake weighing scales being used by the middlemen, the Agago district commercial officer, Geoffrey Otema instead accused farmers of wanting to make quick monies.
He added: As a district, we have dealers who are approved by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards [UNBS]. They have genuine weighing scales.”
He continued: “Through radios, we always send a clear message to farmers so that they are not cheated by middlemen using fake weighing scales when it is time for harvesting, just like we do during the planting season so that these farmers do not purchase fake inputs.”
According to Orema, at times, the middlemen take advantage of the farmers who are in dire need of money. “However, want the farmers always to work hand in hand with us so that such culprits are weeded out,” he said.
He added that plans are underway to have an interface with the farmers, middlemen, dealers, and transporters to discuss how each stakeholder can keep in the produce business.
“There are several counter-accusations and we hope that a dialogue will resolve some of the issues,” he said.
On his part, Charles Otim, chairperson Lukole Grain Farmer’s Cooperative Enterprise Limited, said farmers that are being cheated are those who oppose joint bulking and marketing.
“If we would get together in selling our produce, such irregularities would not happen, but some farmers have become a target of fake weighing scales simply because they sell as individuals,’’ he said.
https://thecooperator.news/amuru-rice-dealers-on-the-spot-over-cheating-customers/
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