Uganda, UK partner to improve post-harvest handling for Ugandan farmers

Entebbe, Uganda: Farmers united under cooperative societies are set to benefit from a new partnership between the Government of Uganda and the United Kingdom, that will see them benefit from advanced post-harvest handling and processing systems.

The partnership signed between Uganda’s Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) and M/S Alvan Blanch and Colas Ltd – a UK company will see improvements in farm mechanization, and post- harvest crop preservation and processing, that is hoped to improve the quality of Uganda’s Agricultural exports and resultantly spur economic growth.

The Cooperator has established that under the new MOU, Alvan Blanch will design and supply complete systems for the drying and processing of crops such as cocoa, coffee, groundnuts and rice. The systems will also be able to process maize into flour, sorghum into malt, cassava into chips, flour or Ugari, and fruits into concentrate juice.

Alvan Blanch- the implementing partner in the MOU has over 50years of experience covering the storage and processing of various types of grains and crops grown on the continent. It will now partner with Colas Limited, another British company to manufacture, supply, and install multiple post-harvest processing systems.

The partnership will also include delivery of related training and construction of associated infrastructure, especially for farmer groups organized under cooperative societies.

The partnership is the latest in a series of Government of Uganda interventions intended to enable the private sector improve its processing and value addition capabilities.

In 2019/2020 financial year, the MAAIF through the National Agricultural Advisory Services(NAADs) has committed UGX 55 billion to set up grain, fruit and feeds processing plants in the districts of Yumbe, Kapeeka, Nwoya and Kayunga.

The partnership will see Alvan Blanc and Colas Ltd work with several government departments and agencies like Uganda Prisons, Uganda Development Corporation and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives.

The UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) which announced the partnership is Uganda’s fourth largest donor, behind the World Bank, the African Development Fund and the US.