Rural Injini (Engine) Inclusive Maize Trading & Processing

The project aims to support Ugandan smallholder farmers to efficiently bulk and process maize to sell to regional wholesalers. Joseph Initiative Ltd. (JI) takes an integrated approach to trading, combining rural collection centres with village buying agents to collect maize in small quantities from remote farmers and making payments to them on the spot.

JI’s business model concentrates on ‘bottom of the pyramid’ farmers producing one metric ton or less per year, as they are below the aggregation thresholds for commercial traders. A reliable market and access to inputs and finance will increase farmers’ incomes. Inclusion of a large number of producers, increasing productivity and potentially reducing the current 40% post-harvest losses could lead to substantial improvement in Uganda’s food security.

SDGs