The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
- Regulate traders and the logistical infrastructure
Foreign trucks currently enter the country, pick maize from famers in the villages and quality cannot be monitored either at the farm level or during transportation. Let the Ministry of Agriculture or parliament initiate a law that requires traders to pick maize only from certified farmer led micro-warehouses across the country. No trucks, trailers and traders should pick maize from the farmer. They should only pick quality certified maize from certified warehouses either at sub-county, district or regional grain reserves. This avoids farmer exploitation but also guarantees quality monitoring at aggregate level.
- Establish an Interstate farmer led regional agriculture value chain promotion platform
The farmers propose establishing an interstate farmer led regional agricultural value chain platform that would mobilise, organise, empower and coordinate agricultural value chain actors in the region with aim of fostering intra-regional agricultural value chains. Pro-people and pro-farmer properly incentivised agricultural value chains will accelerate regional integration faster than politicians can do. Therefore, deliberate partnership between farmers, private sector and policy platform to promote regional agriculture value chains should be nurtured. Development partners, governments and the private sector should provide its financing.
- Establish an Interstate Ministerial Committee with a mechanism to design, implement, and monitor regional agricultural value chain.
This coordinates and supervises the political, policy and policy implementation dimensions of the regional agricultural value chains trade. It acts as an early warning system for intra-regional agricultural value chain trade stumbling blocks. It organises the much needed political will and guidance for accelerating mutual benefits from intra-regional agricultural value chain trade among member states. This committee meets on quarterly basis and reports to a Heads of States Summit on annual basis.
- Establish a regional standards collaboration platform
The Uganda Bureau of Standards, Kenya Bureau of Standards, Tanzania of Bureau of Standards and standards agencies of other EAC member states can act jointly to promote harmonised regional commodity standards. This would provide avenues for an early warning system and avoid economic loss on both sides within borders and outside borders among member states.
- Establish a regional crop inspection platform.
Let us have a common crop inspection platform for EAC member states to facilitate standards harmonisation, coordination and early warnings systems of regional value chain trade, pests and disease control. Integrated with digital tracking and traceability of crops and animals will accelerate integration and drive regional trade to equitable benefits for all.
- Do not drum for trade wars/ reciprocation of bad practices.
An eye for an eye is not a good development strategy for the region. Neither is it a good war strategy. Let’s educate citizens of the region on the benefits of good regional trade practices. Drum for sensitisation, education on the benefits of the regional integration, inclusive wealth creation and maximise sources of tangible benefits from this integration.
- Establish a farmer led maize commodity exchange platform
A commodity exchange platform would permit organised, regulated and structured intra-regional traded commodities like maize. It guarantees quality, quantity and prices through negotiated contracts and backed by enforcement mechanisms of these contracts. A Farmer led maize commodity exchange platform for all the farmers in the region managed by the farmers organisation’s in member states can drive faster inclusive and sustainable regional integration and stable trade between member states.
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Dr. Dick Nuwamanya Kamuganga is the President of the Uganda National Farmers Federation
