Agrodealer Trade Across Borders (ATAB) Monthly Report

The program received funding from the USAID COMPETE initiative. In July 2012, the fifth monthly report highlighted key activities and progress made during the fifth month of the project. A market linkage workshop was held in Kampala, Uganda, on July 19, 2012, bringing together 51 agrodealers from Eastern, Western, and Northern Uganda, as well as 14 grain buyers from Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and South Sudan. The workshop provided a platform for participants to discuss business and establish formal market linkages. Stakeholders, including government officials and representatives from various institutions, attended the workshop and shared their views on the challenges faced by traders. The participants expressed enthusiasm for establishing formal and sustainable market linkages, with some agrodealers bringing samples of their grains to showcase to the buyers. The buyers, in turn, expressed their desire to undergo training on cross-border trade to better understand grain quality standards, warehouse management, and other essential aspects of the trade. The workshop also highlighted the need for reliable and timely market information, as well as access to credit and capital, to facilitate cross-border trade. Several associations have been formed by trained agrodealers, which are acting as negotiating bodies to support the interests of traders and provide professional support and networking among traders. One such association, the Eastern Agri-Business Services Association Limited, was formed by agrodealers trained in Busia and aims to bulk, grade, and conduct cross-border trade. The report also highlighted the challenges faced by traders, including lack of sufficient capital, access to credit, and reliable market information. To address these challenges, the AGMARK team and COMPETE partners plan to engage regional heads of institutions impacting cross-border cereal trading and border officers at the Sirari border to iron out the challenges experienced by traders. The ATAB Performance Management Plan, outlined in Annex 2, sets targets for the program's outcomes, including the number of agrodealers trained on cross-border grain trade, the volume of grains purchased by agrodealers from smallholder farmers, and the value of grains purchased. The plan also outlines indicators for tracking progress, including the number of smallholder farmers selling grain to agrodealers and the number of contracts signed and serviced between agrodealers and buyers. The report concludes by highlighting the progress made during the fifth month of the project and outlining plans for future activities, including a familiarization and sensitization trip to the Uganda-South Sudan border town of Nimule, training on fumigation, and a market linkage workshop in Tanzania.