Market for produce
The company provides a market for smallholder farmers, particularly those in the neighborhood of the processing facilities in Busunju. These farmers would not
normally be able to take their produce to Kampala for sale, given their small volumes and the prohibitive cost of transport With nearby processing facilities, farmers are able to earn a better margin without using the services of middlemen.
Storage Facilities
The company has got facilities which enable storage of maize grains on behalf of small- holder farmers or traders. This takes away the pressure to sell their crop until when the market conditions are right. The smallholder farmers have an option to sell to the company or to sell to any other buyer of their choice. There are no strings attached to this service
Input Sourcing and supply services
The company plans to draft a program for assisting smallholder farmers to access genuine inputs which include improved, seeds, fertilizers and chemicals.
The company is planning to invest further into the production of human flour, and animal feeds. These two lines of business are directly related to the first one which is already established as they both use the maize grain as the major raw-material input.
Further business development ideas include the wet-milling of maize to produce cooking oil, starch and many more industrial products. However, this can only be done after the volumes of maize produced in the country have gone up significantly.
Cleaning and drying facilities
The company has got the ability and capacity to provide cleaning and drying services to farmers, who mostly do not have these facilities given the initial high capital outlay that is required. This means the smallholder farmers or traders are able to get their maize cleaned and dried, and they can take it back home or to the market of their choice. The maize naturally can stay longer when cleaned and dried, and attract better prices when there is scarcity of the commodity.
Technical Advice
The company has got experts who are able to provide the smallholder farmers with advice on how to handle their farming programs better for more output of better-quality grains. This service is provided for free to the smallholder farmers; sprout members are desirous on passing information and knowledge to farmers as a way of being socially responsible.
Usability Testing
Business is the activity of making one living making money by producing products.Simply put it is any activity or enterprise entered into for profit.
And More...
SUSTAINABILITY
The company is looking forward to playing a significant part in improving the development and performance of the agricultural sector in the country, as well as contributing significantly to the development of the smallholder farmers. Food security is a key issue which needs concerted efforts by all the forward-looking entities. We are working on contributing to the country’s ability to feed herself as well as our neighbouring countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, D R Congo and South Sudan.