Farmers

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The basis of our business is organic farming and the many 1000s of farmers who work for us are committed to high standards of farming. We focus on ecologically friendly alternative inputs and methods that are harmless to health and environment. Chemical pesticides and child labor is forbidden as fixed in the standards of the international labor organization ILO. Our field staff keeps an eye on that to persuade parents to send their children to school. In return they get a profitable crop, a higher price for their products and much more.

In order to keep up with the standards the farmers are trained and supervised by qualified Field Officers. A fund is ploughed back from sales to directly benefit the growers with inputs. The projects also strongly advocate the use of intercropping with food and cash crops and stimulate alternative sources of income.

Our registered farmers are converted to a more sustainable form of cultivation and enhance productivity by means of improved farm management, profitable intercropping and the use of effective inputs that can be sustained by the small holders without depending on expensive inputs from outside. Purchase of all our cash crops is guaranteed. Moreover, our presence in the surrounding areas also stimulates local merchants to pay a higher price for the same products because they try to keep up with our price levels.

Our projects have resulted in more income to 10-thousands of farmer households and consequently the standard of living has improved dramatically. People have more money to spend and this has resulted in better quality of housing, better communication facilities, education, better healthcare and availability of good medicines. Most children go to school now that the parents can afford the school fees.

Next to our head office in Mukono, we have two offices up-country, one in Lira town and one in Arua town from where field based agricultural extension workers are coordinated who give farmers and store keepers the required trainings and advice through a network of Field Officers, Assistant Farmers and Primary Society Store Keepers. They register and inspect all farmers each season, inspect each field, prepare maps of fields, villages and Primary Societies and connect all these data to produce area maps.

During the marketing season the FO’s are responsible for monitoring every organic store on organic conformities, documentation and aspects of quality. Before the end of the growing season, our offices provide marketing trainings to each store official on record keeping, marketing and accountability with special emphasis on traceability and organic conformities. Store officials are appointed and contracted by Shares.