WFP installs $2.4 mln machinery to boost grain quality in Uganda

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) on Tuesday said it has begun installing cleaning and drying equipment in nine public warehouses in Uganda to improve the quality of grain produced by smallholder farmers.

The UN's food aid agency office here said in a statement that the farmers would also be able to store their grain at the warehouses until it could raise a good price.

"Too often smallholder farmer groups have poor quality grain, which cannot bring them a good price. This is because they lack access to modern equipment for cleaning and drying maize," said Stanlake Samkange, WFP Country Director.

The installation exercise started in the northern Ugandan district of Gulu and is now taking place in Tororo district in eastern Uganda. The equipment will also be installed in western, eastern central and northern regions.

The farmers will be charged a small fee for the cleaning, drying, grading and bagging services, and larger and safe storage space.

According to the statement, the farmers would be able to sell their produce to WFP and other big buyers in eastern Africa which the agency would link them to.

WFP has established a country-wide warehouse system to help Ugandan smallholder farmers store and market their produce in a bid to raise their income as part of the poverty eradication efforts.

Source:Xinhua