South Sudanese smallholder farmers in Kapuri of Central Equatoria State formed Akari Development Association (“ADA”) in 2010. ADA has a membership of 463 individuals, 260 of whom are women. ADA purchases sorghum grains from members, which it processes into sorghum flour and cleaned grains for sale in local markets. ADA would like to expand its sorghum flour processing capabilities, as there is additional strong demand for its product in local markets. ADA is constrained, however, by its use of traditional sorghum flour processing methods, as well as limited business management and financial capacities.
ADA’s Sorghum Milling Capacity Building Project is proposed to improve sorghum production by smallholder farmers with a view to strengthening their operational capabilities. The project is intended to provide necessary inputs such as milling equipment, packaging materials, technical training, and other extension services needed to strengthen operational capabilities of ADA with particular emphasis in value addition development.
The project is financially viable, socially rewarding, and economically sustainable. It is therefore recommended that USADF should provide funding and technical support for the proposed project. The project has high chances of expansion and also being replicated elsewhere in the country.
The proposed project is to be located in Kapuri Village. It is a food-producing project primarily involving in the production and packaging of sorghum flour. The production/packaging of sorghum flour has no negative impact on the environment. The packaging materials or equipment are not noisy. Through the improvement of productivity, most of the members of ADA and the target smallholder sorghum producers will achieve food self-sufficiency. This situation will greatly contribute to the stabilization of food availability in their rural areas, particularly for the improvement of food and nutrition security.