2ND MARKET INFORMATION SYMPOSIUM MARKET INFORMATION AS TOOL FOR MARKETING FARM PRODUCE PRESENTATION BY: HON. HENRY MUKIBI KITYO, UNFF

INTRODUCTION The last major activity in a farmer’s production cycle is marketing. The biggest incentive of farmers to continue producing crops and livestock is a good market price. When they are disappointed by the market of a particular crop, they tend not to grow that very crop the following season. Middlemen take advantage of the ignorance of farmers and cheat them by offering them lower prices that they are willing to pay for the produce. Faulty weighing scales.

A maize producer and owns maize milling company Formed a farmers group in 2004 planted maize on 240 acres Marketed our maize at kawanda Seed Company. SUCCESS STORY

Later opened up maize mill at Kamungo Town Town K’la masaka Rd and we started to produce maize mill currently producing and selling to local markets and schools. I joined the MTN market Information service 2005 and started sourcing for prices particularly for maize and beans; we have been dealing with helped the group to know current market price daily. SUCCESS STORY Contin’d..

Limited coverage of radios disseminates market information. Not all farmers have telephones if dissemination is done through SMS on telephone No follow up on Tele centres that were introduced by government (currently in Buwama and Nabweru sub-county. Farmers tend to grow crops when the price is high and at the end of the day flood the market and get poor prices. CHALLENGES

Very few farmers who get market information before and during crop production and livestock. They may not even know what the price is in the markets a few miles away from their farms. CHALLENGES contin’d..

Avail market information services to the farmers Follow up on Tele Centres that had been introduced by government. SOLUTIONS

THANK YOU