Since 2016, Arise and Shine Maize Millers established links with maize farmers in Oyam, Kiryandongo and Masindi district through Area Cooperative Enterprises (ACEs) to tap into the already existing organizations and memberships that would generate the grain in adequate quantities. Cooperative Enterprise are new initiative by farmers to consolidate themselves into groups, bulk their produce and approach market as a block, with higher negotiating power for better prices.

Arise and Shine Maize Millers then, identified and engaged these Cooperative Enterprises through contract farming, and Long Term Assurances, to support sustainable maize production, trade and milling activities. Through these ACEs, Arise and Shine Maize Millers is supporting smallholder farmers with extension services, trainings in Good Agronomic Practices (GAAP), Post-Harvest Handlings (PHH) and farming as business.

The trainings are conducted through Lead Farmers Model, where Arise and Shine field extension officers trains changes agents, and facilitate them to train their respective farmers’ group members. A monitoring mechanism is therefore established to ensure these trainings trickled down to primary beneficiaries

Arise and Shine also provide basic postharvest facilities like tarpaulins, motorized maize shellers amongst others to ensure quality production and reduce postharvest loses. Experience has shown that farmers loses about 40% of their produce in postharvest handlings alone. Upon adequate and quality production, Arise and Shine then provide market for what farmers’ produced.
Meanwhile, the Area Cooperative Enterprises mobilizes farmers to bulk their maize to be sold to Arise and Shine Maize Millers as a priority market.