Gimoro enlivens efforts of Gulu District grain farmers

A man in his grain store named Nutri Mix Feeds Limited found in Gulu District. Uganda has sold nearly 38,000 tonnes of maize worth $15.2 million (Shs54.2b) to its regional neighbours over the past one month. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

When Mr Ojok Gimoro felt that life in Kampala was not treating him right, he sold all his assets and headed back home to Gulu District where he turned to farming. Joseph Kato writes that today Mr Gimoro has impacted his community in both growing grains and trading in them.

If you asked for the top three grain dealers in Gulu Town, I bet Ojok Gimoro might be mentioned first. Mr Gimoro is a prominent farmer cum businessman in Gulu District. Mr Gimoro’s prominence stems from growing maize, beans and ground nuts on large scale. In addition, he is perhaps the only major wholesaler and exporter of grains in the town.
Apart from his own harvests, Mr Gimoro buys grain from farmers in the districts of Gulu, Lira, Oyam and Nwoya, among others.
Mr Gimoro, who left Kampala after selling all his business assets for Gulu in 2010, was determined to create a legacy as a farmer and businessman, but also to touch lives and improve farmers’ wellbeing through buying their produce at fair prices.
“I first tried selling maize grain in Kampala but it did not work out as I had anticipated. There was stiff competition and unreliable suppliers. I decided to try my luck in my home town and I have no regrets,” Mr Gimoro says.
Mr Gimoro, who has since named his business Nutri Mix Feeds Limited (NMFL), walks with his head high due to the popularity local farmers and traders accord him.
Although he does not divulge the current financial worth of his business, Mr Gimoro says, the Shs120 million capital he started with, has grown tremendously surpassing the billion mark. He, however, claims that Shs3.5 billion was spent on the construction a 6,000 metric tonne store and a maize miller.

What others say
Mr Bonny Oala, a farmer in Gulu, applauds Mr Gimoro, for improving their crops’ quality and buying their produce at good prices. Before, NMFL came to life, Mr Oala used to harvest two sacks of maize from an acre but this has since risen to eight.
Mr Gimoro introduced farmers to Usaid Feed the Future Commodity Production and Marketing (CPM) Activity that has trained them in agronomic practices.
“Mr Gimoro brought us life. He buys our crops at good price. He saved us from buyers who used to cheat us. He is the only one I trust with my products,” Mr Oala says.
Ever since CPM trained farmers from the districts of Nwoya, Oyam, Kole, and Gulu, Mr Gimoro admits that the quality of produce such as ground nuts, maize and beans has greatly improved.
Since 2013 when Mr Oala got in touch with CPM, he is now one of the large scale famers and buyer of farmers’ produce. CPM trained 28 people from his business firm. These have since passed the skills to 1,400 farmers.
“I thank CPM for training farmers. They no longer sell to me grains mixed with soil and animal dung,” Mr Gimoro says.

Achievements
Due to increased output from farmers, Mr Gimoro has built a store with capacity of 6,000 metric tonnes of grains. He attributes the increased output to CPM’s continuous sensitisation programmes in the community on good agriculture practices.
Previously, he used to collect less than 10 tonnes of grain in a season but all that has tremendously changed. For the last two years, the trader buys 15 metric tonnes of millet, 40 of maize, 20 of beans, and 50 metric tonnes of rice. Of these, about 90 per cent come from farmers whereas the 10 per cent is harvested from his gardens of 10 acres for beans, 30 for maize, 20 for rice and five for groundnuts.
Last year, Mr Gimoro exported 200 sacks of 50kg to South Sudan and Kenya at a tune of Shs5, 000 per kilogramme. This earned him a total of Shs50m.
In addition, he sold 100 sacks of maize flour at Shs1600 per kilogramme totalling to Shs8m. He also exported 100 sacks of beans at Shs2500 per kilogramme bagging Shs12.5m. From the proceeds he bought a miller and cleaning machines.

The case for quality
“I buy quality products. The farmers have learnt that I don’t fancy poor quality products,” Mr Gimoro says.
He buys produce from farmers’ associations and also uses procurement officers also known as village agents. While buying, he considers the moisture content, cleanliness of the grain and price. He ensures that the association leaders and farmers have agreed on the price.
“I verify the quality through observation or using machines such as silos and cleaners. If your moisture is below the required level, I would know by touching, pulping or by salting. I ensure that farmers agree on prices because I hate buying produce when farmers are dissatisfied,” he says.
Mr Gimoro does not buy randomly. He buys only from those farmers who have been trained on good agriculture practices. Quality is paramount if you are to trade with NMFL. He ensures that trained farmers and association leaders are reminded about recommended agronomic practices at the start of every season. This, he says, has helped him beat competition and stay profitable.

Challenges
He, however, has challenges such as high electricity tariffs. This, he says, has hampered his milling industry.
“I am charged Shs3.6m for every five hours the milling machine runs. I have inquired from the Umeme manager of the Gulu substation why I am charged exorbitantly high but all in vain,” Mr Gimoro states.
Mr Gimoro now thinks of buying a transformer at Shs6m. Apparently, he took complaints to the Electricity Regulatory Authority which is yet to respond to him.

Prospects
His future prospects include buying a drier which he estimates at Shs500m in addition to increasing his storage capacity. He believes the drier will help dry the produce before grinding.
“Many farmers face challenges of drying their grains. I hope the drier will ease their work. I will also be charging them for drying their crops,” Mr Gimoro stresses.

Word of counsel
His advice to beginning entrepreneurs is never to settle for mediocrity. “Aiming for small things is the start of failure,” he says. He believes some farmers have not benefited from agriculture because they have limited their dreams.
“Why should you be comfortable with the three sacks you harvest when your neighbour gets dozens? Ask yourself what that person has that you cannot achieve. Have big dreams and be determined to achieve them at whatever cost,” Mr Gimoro advises.

Employment figures

Mr Gimoro provides employment to more than a dozen youth who work as cleaners, potters and machine operators. He also pays 28 procurement officers also known as village agents for buying on his behalf.