Sharing Experiences on Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization Hire Services Provision Practices in SubSaharan African Countries

1. DECEMBER 9-12-2019, GRAND IMPERIAL HOTEL
KAMPALA ,UGANDA

2.  Zirobwe Agali awamu Agri-business Training Association (ZAABTA) is a higher level
farmers organization that was registered as a company limited by guarantee in the
year 2004. ZAABTA is one of farmers organizations that benefited in the Government’s
upland rice pilot projects that was a partnership between JICA and the Ministry of
Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries for improvement of Post Harvest handling
and Agro – processing through farmers and farmer organizations and the project was
sustained and progressing up to date .
 ZAABTA is focused on Agri Business Training, Grain production and Processing , Seed/
Stock multiplication , Inputs and Outputs Market linkages. ZAABTA manages an
integrated agricultural value chain for rice, soybeans, beans, maize grains and
Horticulture with operations from procurement, bulking, cleaning, packaging, storage,
and marketing from smallholder farmers to profitable markets.
 ZAABTA’s current membership stands at 4,634 registered smallholder farmers (162 farmer
groups) from our areas of operation.
 ZAABTA bridges the gap by doing the backward and forward linkage by supporting
small holder farmers access Agricultural credit facilities from financial institutions to boost
production, supporting in seed loaning through the seed bank project, training and
assisting in the basic agronomic practices, training and supporting the post harvest
handling and Agro-processing through hiring and demostrating mechanisation
equipments and at the same time support farmers access profitable markets for their
value added produce.

3. ZAABTA’S VISION
A self sustaining and strong
farmers organization with
outstanding agri-business
services in Uganda.

4. AREAS OF OPERATION
• Luwero
• Mukono
• Kayunga
• Wakiso
• Nakasongola
• Nakaseke Districts.

5. CURRENT PERFORMING SECTORS AT
ZAABTA
1. Rice sector (production and processing)
2. Maize sector (production and processing)
3. Beans sector (production and processing)
4. Coffee sector (production and processing)
5. Farmers stockist shop
6. Commodity investment and treasury sector
7. Seed bank sector grain marketing & storage
project
8. Machinery and equipment hire sector
agricultural extension service delivery
9. Horticulture sector
10. Seedling production sector

6. Activities in the provision of agricultural
mechanization hire services
 PLOUGHING SERVICES
 PLANTING SERVICES
 SPRAYING SERVICES
 WEEDING SERVICES
 MOBILE IRRIGATION SERVICES
 SHELLING SERVICES
 THRESHING SERVICES
 CLEANING AND GRADING SERVICES
 DRYING SERVICES
 TRANSPORT SERVICES
 MILLING SERVICES

7. Type of Equipment Performance
(Power,Width..
Date of Purchase New or Used
condition
TRACTOR 390hp,0.5acres/
hr
2018 Used condition
POWER TILLER 8.5hp,2400rpm 2018 New
PLANTERS 2acre/hr 2016 NEW
JAB PLANTERS FROM 2013 NEW
ELECTRONIC SPRAY
PUMPS
25pumps/hr FROM 2014 NEW
Wheel weeders 0.5acre/day FROM 2018 NEW
Rice reaper 1 ton/hr FROM 2012 NEW
Rice cutter 1 ton/hr FROM 2012 NEW
Rice threshers 10bags/hr FROM 2010 NEW
Maize shellers 16hp,30bags/hr FROM 2014 NEW

8. Type of Equipment Performanc
e
(Power,
Width..
Date of
Purchase
New or Used
condition
Mechanical drier 5TONS/HR 2016 OLD
Grain cleaner 2019 NEW
Complete rice
mill(pre-cleaner,mill
andgrader)
SB 30,SB 50
1.5TON/HR,
2.5TON/HR
2018 NEW
complete maize mill
(pre-cleaner,huller
and mill)
1.5ton/hr 2018 NEW
Tata truck 15TONS 2018 NEW
Mobile irrigation kits (
fuel water pump,
solar pump,hose
pipes and sprinklers)
10,000ltrs/hr 2017 NEW

9. STAFF JOB TRAINING/QUALIFICATIO
N
YEARS OF
EXPERIENCE
KABALI JULIUS MACHINE OPERATORS TRAINED ON JOB 8YRS
TIBATEMWA ELIFAZ MACHINE OPERATOR TRAINED ON JOB 8YRS
KATENDE ISMAIL MACHINE OPERATOR CERTIFICATE IN DRIVING 8YRS
NSUBUGA ABDUL TATA driver CERTIFICATE IN DRIVING 20YRS
WALUSIMBI HENRY MACHINE OPERATOR TRAINED ON JOB 4YRS
NSUBUGA MUSA MACHINE OPERATOR TRAINED ON JOB 4YRS
MUWONGE SUDAIS MACHINE OPERATOR TRAINED ON JOB 2YRS
HIRE MIKE MACHINE OPERATOR TRAINED ON JOB 2YRS
SEMAKALU IBRAHIM MACHINE OPERATOR TRAINED ON JOB 5YRS
KYEKULIDDE TRACTOR OPERATOR TRACTOR OPERATOR
CERTIFICATE
20YRS
KIBIRIGE TRACTOR OPERATOR 15YRS

10. Major mechanization hire-services:
Outputs
Description of the
activity
Agricultural production
chain
Output (in Ha/year,
t/h, km …)
Period over the year
PLOUGHING
SERVICES
Maize,beans,rice,soy
beans
625.66/YR 6250Ha
PLANTING ALL CROPS 3864.16ha/yr 19320.8ha
SPRAYING ALL CROPS 508.33 3049.98
WEEDING ALL CROPS 348ha/yr 3132ha
SHELLING MAIZE.G.NUT 10ha/yr 216ha
THRESHING RICE 215ha/yr 2365ha
MILLING RICE,MAIZE. 10,000tons/yr 30,000tons/yr
CLEANING MAIZE,BEANS 200tons 9000tons
DRYING maize 3000tons 3900tons
irrigation All crops 30ha/yr 150ha
transport All crops N/A N/A

11. Sources of financing for the acquisition
of equipment
• We are acquired these equipments from
different sources:
1. Own funds
2. Grants from Partner organisations
3. Local government

12. Clients and Service Charges
 Market prospecting (local or outside the region)
a. Local markets
b. Areas of Operations
c. Outside the région
 Types of customers (subsidised or self-financing clients)
a. Large scale,medium and Small scale farmers.
b. Institutions
 Setting of service rates
a. Depends on number of acres, tons and mileage
 Method of payment
a. Cash
b. Bank
c. Mobile money
 Market strategies
a. Use of extension models (village agent model and nokia youth model)

13. ZAABTA INCOME STATEMENTS
GRAPH
-UGX 200,000,000.00
UGX -
UGX 200,000,000.00
UGX 400,000,000.00
UGX 600,000,000.00
UGX 800,000,000.00
UGX 1,000,000,000.00
UGX 1,200,000,000.00
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
SALES
GROSS PROFIT
SURPLUS/LOSS AFTER TAX
KEY
Sales = turnover / gross sales
Gross Profit = turnover less
cost of sales (opening stock
add purchases less closing
stock)
Surplus/Loss after tax =
gross profit add other
incomes add grants less
governance costs less admin
expenses less financial
charges less income tax

14. Business Constraints/Challenges
 High cost of machinery
 High level of fake spare parts on the
market
 Inadequate technical knowledge on
operation and maintenance

15.  ZAABTA is planning to buy and acquire more machines to
increase production by the farmers through our own funds, grants
and loans from different stake holders.
 ZAABTA is planning to buy equipments for all the marketing
stores (9 in number) with in the five districts of
operation(luweero,mukono,nakaseke,nakasongola and kayunga)
for the farmers to access them as they are near their villages within
5yrs.
 Train farmers to fully adopt the use of machines at their farms as
there labour saving technologies within 5yrs
 Continue support farmers with trainings on the use, operate and
how to maintain these equipments as some of them are operated
by farmers.
 Continue collaborate with different partners as all come with
different new ideas and innovations withhin 5yrs.

16. Difficulties in the use of the
equipments
 Few Equipments compared to number of supported
farmers.(planters,weeders,shellers, threshers, power tiller ,tractor etc)
 Some Farmers farming cultures don't support the use of equipments
(eg weeders)
 Late preparation which hinder use of some equipments eg use of
tractor in water lodging areas, wheel weeders,power tiller etc.
 Long distances to transport the machines
 Low cost of farmer produce in the market hinder farmers to use
machines eg grain cleaner, drier etc after harvesting.
 Fake spare parts sold by suppliers.
 Poor post harvest handling by the farmers leads to faulting some
parts o the equipment eg rice mill, maize mill etc.
 Travelling long distance increases transport cost which leads to
increase on service cost and its not favourable for some farmers eg
small scale farmers.

17. solutions
 We continue train farmers on how to operate
some of the equipments (eg rice
threshers,weeders,rice cutters,spray pumps
etc)
 Mobilise farmers to prepare their gardens
before the start of rain season
 we are continuing demonstrating all the
equipment down to farmers villages for them
to fully adopt their use.
 we intend to buy and put some of the
machines at our collection stores to reduce
transport cost and even increase accessibility

18. Recommendations for promoting
service delivery at National level
 Increase efforts on technical
backstopping on operation and
maintenance of equipments
 Need for leverage of resources with
private sector to increase mechanization
uptake
 Decentralise mechanisation technology
exhibitions to rural areas.
 Supporting innovative technologies to
improve efficiency and sustainability.

20. Rice mill

21. Mobile irrigation

22. Demonstrating manual wheel
weeder

23. Some of the equipments

25. Village agents exhibiting the
model

27. Mechanical drier

28. Electronic spray pump in use

29. ZAABTA extension motor cycles

30. MAIZE SHELLER IN OPERATION

31. NEW INSTALLED COMPLETE RICE
MILL

32. PLANTER MOUNTED ON MAIZE
SHELLER

33. ZAABTA’S TRACTOR PROVIDING SERVICES TO FARMERS

34. DIGITAL WEIGHING SCALE

35. DEMONISTRATING USE OF
WHEEL WEEDER

36. PROVIDING MOBILE IRRIGATION
SERVICE

37. GRAIN CLEANER IN OPERATION

38. GRAIN CLEANING OFFERED BY ZAABTA STAFF
FOR WORLD FOOD PROGRAM CONTRACT

39. THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION