December 21, 2022

Small steps, Big Impact: Locally Milled Maize Flour in South Sudan

Staple Crops

TAG NOG VULLEN

In South Sudan, maize is one of the most common food crops cultivated by smallholder farmers across the country. However, one of the biggest paradoxes is that maize flour, used to make the local popular meal ugali, is almost 100% imported from Uganda yet maize is widely grown.

Given the fast-growing population in Western Equatoria State (over 800,000 people), food security is a major concern. Despite the tremendous agricultural potential of the area, inadequate rain, lack of access to finance and climate change has all contributed to food insecurity in the area.

To alleviate this challenge, since mid-2021, 2SCALE has been working in a pilot partnership in Western Equatoria State with the syndicated partnership, Eden Multipurpose Marketing Cooperative Society and General Farmers Union Nzara as business Champions. The goal of these partnerships is to increase maize productivity and to add value to maize by producing flour to reduce reliance on imports and boost the local economy.

Eden and Nzara – Breaking New Ground

In Yambio, where the Eden Multipurpose Marketing Cooperative Society (EMMCS) is based, the transformation caused by the milling has been profound. Since the inception of EMMCS in 2016, the Cooperative has always had an ambition to launch a maize flour brand but could not be due to lack of capital, adequate human capacity and the adverse working environment. As part of the partnership, EMMCS acquired a maize milling machine that since September this year, is used in producing maize flour. The maize milling machine enables Eden to mill 350kg of maize flour per day. The maize is sold to retail outlets under the brand Super Maize Flour. The maize mill provides employment to 7 people directly.

The maize milling machine, which was co-financed by 2SCALE, has already had a significant effect on the cooperative. The maize milling has also helped to help EMMCS to diversify its operations as previously it was reliant on selling grain to the World Food Programme (WFP) for use as relief food and PG3 Logistic for school feeding program in Wau, Western Bahar-el-Gazel State. Having the additional outlet of selling maize flour is essential for the sustainability of Eden.

We would like to appreciate the support that we have received from 2SCALE in our business. We had the idea of having maize flour but 2SCALE came and helped us turn that dream into a reality. Now that we have the flour, we are planning to deepen our market activations not only in Yambio but also over time in the Western Equatoria state,

said Christopher Ismail, Chairperson of EMMCS.

22 kilometers from Yambio, is the town of Nzara, which is home to Farmers General Cooperative Union Nzara, the other partner in the syndicate maize partnership. Founded in 2017, the main objective of the union is to help cooperatives and farmers in Nzara but offering training on Good Agronomic Practices (GAP), aggregation and processing of produce.

As part of the partnership, 2SCALE supported Nzara in acquiring a milling machine to produce flour. Union’s milling plant has a capacity of milling. Since the start of the mill, it directly employs 5 people who play assorted roles as plant operators, stitchers, grain cleaners. The maize produced by the Union is in the market by the brand name Quality Maize Flour and at the start of December, began being sold in the Nzara markets for mass consumption.

For us the launch of the product is the culmination of a long journey. This is a vision that we have had for some time and we are happy to see that thanks to the partnership we are able to offer markets to our farmers and also offer quality flour to our community. Our next focus is on deepening the presence in the market and in future possible expansion,

said the Chairperson of Nzara, Denis Tabere

Another important aspect of the maize milling is that Nzara also sells brand, which is a by-product of the maize milling. Bran is used as livestock feed, and this also helps in diversification of the union’s product offerings.

Market reception and uptake

The maize from both EMMCS and General Farmers Union Nzara is available in quantities of 5, 10, 20 and 25 kg. This range of different packaging options is critical because it provides people with choice and one can buy the product depending on their purchasing ability. Depending on customer preferences in future, introduction of smaller quantities is also a possibility that will be considered. The maize from the syndicate is also significantly more affordable than competitors in the market which also makes them attractive to the local clientele. A bag of 5kg of maize flour for both brands retails at 3000 South Sudanese Pounds compared to an average of 4,500 Pounds for competing imported brands.

Hussein Mohammed, a retailer at the Nzara market says,

I bought 10 pieces of the Nzara maize flour and so far, I have only had one piece left which shows quite good demand. The people who have bought it have said it has a very good taste and will come back for more.

What next for the Syndicate Partnerships?

For the two business champions in the syndicate, the launch of the maize brands is already a huge milestone, but they are not content. Next on the agenda would be efforts to deepen the route to market for the maize flour by bringing in more distributors and retailers within the Western Equatoria State. This is critical because of the knock-on effect that milling flour also has on maize production and local employment.

As part of the 2SCALE support for the partnership, capacity building for the syndicate partnership is planned for the first quarter of 2023 to build up their sales and marketing distribution teams to aid in market penetration. Enhancing the packaging is also something that will be given priority in 2023 to ensure the two brands can be able to stand out and compete with the other brands. In addition to enhancing the supply chain of the maize flour, market activations are also planned in the first quarter of 2023 to raise awareness on the availability of locally produced, affordable and quality maize flour for the citizens of South Sudan.

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