The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ugandan private sector agribusiness companies and service providers will benefit from grants totaling Sh8.4 billion offered by the Climate Resilient Agribusiness for Tomorrow (CRAFT) project for East Africa.
CRAFT has co-invested EUR 2,061,445 in grants to 14 private sector companies working in the sunflower, soybean, sesame, common beans and sorghum value chains in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
The Ugandan companies set to access this grant are eight: Transformation for Rural development Limited (TRAFORD), Nyekorac Community Farmers’ Cooperative Society Ltd, SESACO Ltd, Masindi Seed Company, RECO Industries, Equator Seeds Ltd, ACILA Enterprises Ltd and Okeba Uganda Ltd.
CRAFT project invests in companies that have demonstrated from their own internally generated funds as well as from third party providers (i.e. financiers and beneficiaries) that their businesses are viable.
The project’s climate innovation and investment facility (CIIF) is part of the overall goal to increase availability and accessibility of climate-resilient food in East Africa.
Food production in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda has to increase significantly to feed the population that is growing at an average of 3% in Tanzania and Uganda and 2.5% in Kenya.
Adoption of climate smart production, harvesting and processing methodologies is key to improving productivity and efficiencies of the existing food crop production and supply systems.
It however requires concerted efforts and joint investments by supply chain actors, service providers and public sector partners, working in the different targeted value chains to support effective adaptation and mitigation strategies.
Co-investment with the private sector is one of the key strategies identified by the CRAFT project to achieve sustainable results.
The project will thus work with and through the private sector to promote climate smart agriculture related innovations at farming systems and value chain level and support public sector partners in creating the institutional environment for wide-scale adoption of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices.
Through the climate innovation and investment facility (CIIF), CRAFT will support performance-based grants so as to build the resilience of private sector agribusinesses and service providers in the targeted value chains. The CIIF contribution is not an end in itself but rather a means for attracting commercial funding for follow-on investments and scaling. The private sector companies invest their own funds and then leverage off the CRAFT grant to attract additional investment from commercial financial institutions. This not only boosts their credit worthiness and relationship with the financial institutions, but ensures businesses continuity beyond the life of the project.
The CRAFT investment facility will be able to Reduce the financial risks of new business initiatives including those of small scale (women) farmers and of cooperatives, thereby contributing to an increase of the level of investment and private sector engagement in the climate resilient food systems in East Africa; and Scale up structural investments by leveraging these with existing financial instruments and relevant institutions.
The Climate Resilient Agribusiness for Tomorrow (CRAFT) project is a multi–country (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) five-year effort implemented by SNV in partnership with Wageningen University and Research (WUR), CGIAR’s Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), Agriterra, and Rabo Partnerships. The project is funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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SOURCE: SNV Uganda
| Business champion | Purpose of the grant | Target Small holder Farmers | Project Duration | CIIF Amount in Euros | Grantee Contribution in Euros** | Total Budget in Euros |
| Uganda | ||||||
| Transformation for
Rural development Limited (TRAFORD) |
Soybean – Engage in Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) extension services; Facilitate access to improved seed, and fertilizer for smallholder farmers | 5,000 | 2 years | 198,358 | 803,088 | 1,001,446 |
| Nyekorac Community
Farmers’ Cooperative Society Ltd |
Sesame – Sesame seed multiplication (early maturing and drought tolerant seed), climate smart extension services, promote collaboration with other stakeholders, solar irrigation for seed production, agroforestry systems, and facilitate access to climate finance. | 3,000 | 2.5 years | 96,563 | 463,293
|
559,856 |
| SESACO Ltd
|
Soybean – Building capacity of farmers, provide access to drought tolerant soybean varieties, promote use of post -harvest handling technologies, acquire efficient energy roasters and grain grading equipment | 10,000 | 2 years | 193,042 | 1,053,490 | 1,246,532 |
| Masindi Seed
Company |
Soybean – Multiplication of early maturing and drought tolerant soybean seed varieties, dissemination of seed and climate information, CSA extension services and introduce soil testing. | 6,000 | 2 years | 170,170
|
399,012 | 569,182 |
| RECO Industries | Soybean – Engage in CSA extension services, invest in solar driers, mobile soil testing kits, provide tarpaulins (PHH), facilitate access to improved seed and finance for smallholder farmers | 1,000 | 3 years | 146,720 | 817,786 | 964,506 |
| Equator Seeds Ltd | Sesame – Promote CSA practices, increase soybean yields by extending seed loans to contracted seed producers, provide weather information through ICT | 33,000 | 3 years | 203,939 | 16,764,003
|
16,967,942 |
| ACILA Enterprises Ltd | Soybean – Promote use of high yielding, early maturing soybean varieties; provide CSA extension services, pest and disease identification and management; introduce agroforestry practices, and post-harvest management technologies | 5,000 | 2 years | 150,542 | 467,040 | 617,582 |
| Okeba Uganda Ltd | Soybean – Training on CSA practices and technologies, access to climate resilient agriculture inputs and promoting technologies that increase adaptability. | 8,000 | 2 years | 194,902 | 292,174 | 487,076 |
| Tanzania | ||||||
| Nondo Investors Co.
Limited |
Sunflower – Dissemination of improved seeds to farmers, CSA training and extension service, aggregation of grains, milling and marketing of oil to outlets | 3,000 | 2 years | 148,216 | 263,454 | 411,670
|
| Rogimwa Agro
Company Limited
|
Common bean – Dissemination of CSA dissemination of technologies (e.g. improved seeds, fertilizer, extension services, farmer field schools), marketing of farmers produce, and linkages to large buyers | 6,000 | 3 years | 150,814
|
196,524
|
347,337
|
| Three Sisters Oil mills ltd | Sunflower – Provision of CSA extension services to farmers, offtaking produce from farmers, sunflower milling, post-harvest handling (PHH) services to farmers, distribution of sunflower oil. | 3,000 | 1 year | 83,721 | 229,707 | 313,428 |
| Jackma Enterprises
Ltd |
Sunflower – CSA training and extension service, grain aggregation, milling and marketing of oil | 6,000 | 2 years | 126,048 | 150,893 | 276,941 |
| Mwenge Sunflower Oil
Mills |
Sunflower – Distribution of high quality resilient seeds, seed multiplication, provision of Climate Smart Agribusiness training to smallholder farmers, provision of weather information. | 5,500 | 2.5 years | 142,357 | 371,870 | 514,227 |
| Kenya | ||||||
| IGAMBANG’OMBE
Multipurpose Cooperative Society (IMCOS) |
Sorghum – Leveraging climate smart agri-inputs and financial services provision to enable small holder farmers access to green grams market and value addition | 700 | 2 years | 56,053 | 43,686 | 99,739 |
| 14 business cases | 95,200 | 2,061,445 | 22,316,020 | 24,377,464 | ||
