means you have a lot of produce available in the market and because of that you find prices are not attractive. The warehouse receipt systems allows farmers to store their produce in good quality and sell when there is a better price. It makes farmers price makers since they decide when and at how much to sell unlike in the old system where a middleman would come and determine the price. But since in Uganda we have two farming seasons, no farmer can keep their commodity beyond 180days.

Whenever there is famine in some areas, the government says the major problem is failure to transport food from areas with surplus to areas with food shortage. What is the role of the warehouse receipt system in ensuring food security?

Over the next five years, we are looking at the Warehouse receipt system being able to solve the food security anomalies in the country. The government and relief agencies can buy food from the farmer, and store the food in these warehouses. If we use the example of grain, you can store it for long periods without it deteriorating or building poison. Now these warehouses start acting as strategic food reserves for government and relief agencies. If there is a drought in one part of the country, the stocks available can be used to curb the problem. For example when we had famine in the north and north eastern part of Uganda, the famine came in when the season was done. By the time government came to ask where the warehouses still had food in the stores, the food was all gone. But now we are hoping that the government can purchase some produce at the beginning of the season through these warehouses, and in case there is a problem in one part of the country, the government can call on those food reserves.  Uganda is one of the few countries in this region that does not have strategic food reserves. As we plan to increase the number of warehouses in the country, we are hoping that under this warehouse receipt system, the government can under either the ministry of trade or of disaster preparedness decide that every season we shall have this amount of strategic food reserves.

It is clear that few farmers are benefiting from the warehouses. How can the UCE or the warehouse receipt system be enabled to benefit more farmers and the country?

One of the major constraints is limited funding. As of now we are operating on funding from the European Union which prides 85percent of the funding and the government of Uganda provides 15 percent.  Yet there is lack of adequate storage facilities in the country. We have drawn up a strategic plan and we are looking for funding to construct at least 10 model 5,000 metric ton warehouses in areas where there is always surplus food. The warehouses will be leased to the private sector after equipping them with proper cleaning and drying facilities, as well as proper weighing, sampling and grading equipment. They will be public warehouses open to small scale farmers.  We want to refurbish another five private warehouses. In addition, we plan to use these warehouses as agriculture marketing information centers. We plan to ensure that everywhere we have a warehouse of at least 1,000 metric tons, we have smaller warehouses with minimal facilities that feed the bigger warehouses. This is aimed at bringing proper storage near the farmers. We are looking at former Cooperative stores for this purpose. When the small ones amass quantities that are economically viable to transport, then we take the produce to the main warehouse in that district or region.

What crops are farmers allowed to keep in the warehouses?

Right now we have licensing conditions for five commodities. These are maize, beans, paddy rice, cotton and coffee.  In 2010, we are going to draw up licensing conditions for sorghum, because the WFP is planning to expand its food basket to include sorghum and millet. Right now we are in talks with USAID’s LEAD project, Equity Bank, Unga and WFP to promote millet growing in northern Uganda. There is a demand for millet from Unga and WFP for about 6,000 metric tons of millet. We are working on ensuring the warehouse in Gulu is operational in February 2010. LEAD is going to  mobilize farmers to grow the millet. For Sorghum, we are looking at the eastern part of Uganda, mostly Soroti to grow the type of sorghum for food .

That sounds like a grand plan. Any final words?

Basically, I have always been a firm believer of developing small scale farmers in this country to undertake farming as a business.  Warehouse receipting is one of the ways we can enable a small scale farmer to move out of this cycle of poverty they have been for a long time. It will help to commercialize agriculture in this country and we are counting on more support from donors, government and businesses partnerships to make the warehouse receipt system work for farmers.#

This story is part of the Africa Reporting Project and was done with financial support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

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