Challenges to the small scale farmers
The farmers face the following challenges in the process of value addition to the raw materials:
- The farmers lack the necessary knowledge of how to add value to agricultural products. The knowledge can be achieved through training.
- They lack the capacity to meet greater demands and expectations of customers in terms of quality, quantity and consistency
- Most farmers operate on a subsistence level and are quite small and they even lack the land
- The farmers lack the financial and technological capacity to process their produce.
- There are few co-operatively owned agro-processing industries to organise the farmers.
- Uganda still imports more processed farm produce than it exports.
- Lack of market oriented farming
- They lack the skill to successful market the farm produce on their own as opposed of going through middlemen.
- Lack of forum which the farmers can join to share experience