Ugandan agribusiness is a complex and dynamic sector that most fainthearted investors are not willing to undertake. 

The vagaries of dealing with farmers, middlemen, suppliers, buyers and other stakeholders creates a cobweb of genuine and fraudulent players that can make or break many dreams.

A landmark omen befell Agri Exim, an organic crops exporting company based in Gayaza, back in 2020-2021 when a reported middlemen scheme in northern Uganda almost brought the firm to its knees.

In fact, Agri Exim CEO Varun Bhassin told Seeds of Gold that they used legal channels to clear the anomaly and that today all the farmers have been paid.

“Some of our middlemen in northern Uganda got influenced and worked with other companies in deals we didn’t know about.  We did investigations and found shortages in the farmers’ supply and in total about 17000 farmers were affected which prompted us to compensate them,’’ Agri Exim CEO Varun Bhassin told Seeds of Gold.

Turning point 

The exporting company was literally being pushed out of business despite winning the 2018 and 2020 best agribusiness exporting company awards.
“We were so demotivated but not broken, we decided to maintain our farmers and improve on the investment. Luckily enough, Uganda has a diversity of crops which is not elsewhere in Africa and so we maintained on using the right practices of growing organic crops with ready markets. We are glad that we couldn’t let down Ugandans so that is how we revived from that scare,” Bhassin revealed.

Big dream 

“Our organisation’s dream is to be the largest organic crops exporters in the country and in the short-term we intend to work with over 200,000 farmers and about 100,000 farmers in the long-term plans.

“Without the support of the farmers that can be very difficult to achieve because our business works around small scale farmers. We want to improve the households of these farmers, teach them the best practices of producing organic crops ready for the market,” he added.

At their expansive warehouse and factory premises in Gayaza, Wakiso District, Agri Exim also process cocoa and cardamom crops from Bundibugyo District that is endowed with high altitudes which facilitates their growth.
Here, packed products are loaded on tracks ready for export on Europe and Asia via the sea route because they have a longer lifespan than fresh goods.

Technological monitoring

In a country where some farmers use counterfeit fertilisers in the name of making quick and bumper agricultural harvests, anyone preaching the organic gospel ought to be extra vigilant.

“We have ground and community managers that work with farmers and track the progress of the farmers to maintain organic produce. We also have a farmer leader’s model and get information from farmers. We give out resources on the ground so that the farmers don’t suffer. The farmers work with middlemen and we give them technical assistance and do certification which makes it attainable,” he said.

Agri Exim has a farmer management application technology that provides them with data from farmers and they send agronomists to avoid total losses.  This model also helps them attain better farming conditions, better farming practices and send out proper time to plant and give out the best seedlings to use.

With about 30000 farmers in the northern and West Nile regions and about 10,000 in Western Uganda districts of Kasese and Bundibugyo, Agri Exim plan to roll out  grand agribusiness schemes in other parts of the country with the help of notable NGOs and farmer groups to fulfil the notion that GDP of Uganda rides on agriculture.

Bhassin targets 100,000 farmers by 2025 and to attain those lofty ambitions he believes companies like Agri Exim out to work in tandem with the government to provide financing, proper seeds, proper post-harvest handling lessons, and improved technology to current and potential farmers.

“The Ministry of Agriculture needs to convince farmers to grow organic produce because of the ready market and fortunately that is already done in coffee so it needs to extend to other crops. That said, the farmers countrywide also ought to sieve the exporting companies they trade with to avoid fraudulent transactions that will frustrate their agricultural investment,” he added.

Agri Exim at a glance

The Indian owned company focuses on quality organic and natural sourced straight from farmers across the globe and harvest, and process premium non-GMO organic and natural products before delivering them onto the market.

For starters, Agri Exim was founded in 2015 in an age when going organic and natural was still more of a luxury than a lifestyle. Its major goal is to make quality organic and natural ingredients more accessible to global customers, while making farmers economically secure and productive.

It also focuses on bridging the gap between farmers and customers seeking the very best in organic and natural produce. 

 Agri Exim provides a global platform for local farmers to market their product, and make sure that they get the best return for their hard work.
“Our unique hand-on approach ensures that the entire supply chain right from cultivation all the way to packaging passes through stringent globally accredited quality standards. We are thoroughly involved and oversee every step of the manufacturing process, and our rigorous quality checks ensure that our customers get the finest local product, without any compromises or shortcuts,” Bhassin stressed.

Uganda is one of Africa’s most rapidly growing organic certified lands, and has a favorable climate for growing several premium crops including soybeans, sesame, cocoa, vanilla, cotton, and bird’s eye chilli. 

Agri Exim identified this high potential for organic & natural production in the country early on, and has since extended comprehensive help and support to local farmers to make organic farming their major source of livelihood. 

A combination of traditional farming methods and training programs on organic farming – soil preparation, harvesting and handling – have enabled farmers to meet organic standards while also increasing the quality and quantity of their produce.

Key facts – About cardamom  
Cardamom is a pod spice in the ginger family that is commonly used in Indian cuisine. Although this spice originated in southern India, today Guatemala is the largest producer of cardamom. The spice can be found as a whole pod, shelled whole seeds, or ground powder. 

The players  

The vagaries of dealing with farmers, middlemen, suppliers, buyers and other stakeholders creates a cobweb of genuine and fraudulent players that can make or break many dreams.

Story Credit: Daily Monitor