The Grain Hub, Soroti.
A planned processing hub in Soroti, to be supplied by Teso cooperatives through DMI Ltd.
Summary
What it is
The Grain Hub will process sesame, sunflower and soybean grown by DMI's cooperative members into cleaned sesame for export, crude and refined vegetable oil, oilcake and meal, complete animal feeds and certified seed.65 The cooperatives organise production and bulking; the Hub is their guaranteed buyer and their source of seed, inputs, training and links to tractor hire, credit and crop insurance.
The plan includes six 5,000-tonne warehouses, steel silos and a weighbridge. DMI works with Akuku Farm Seeds Ltd on organised grain and oilseed production and plans seed development with NARO and its institute at Serere, NaSARRI.65
Planned processing units
The Soroti plan groups crop handling and processing on the same site. Each unit has a different output and customer base; shared intake and storage would connect them to cooperative supply.
| Unit | Planned output | Intended customers |
|---|---|---|
| Sesame cleaning | Cleaned sesame lots | Export buyers |
| Sunflower processing | Crude and refined oil; oilcake | Oil distributors, institutions and feed users |
| Soybean processing | Oil and protein meal | Oil buyers and feed millers |
| Animal feed | Complete feeds | Poultry and pig farmers, cooperatives |
| Seed unit | Cleaned, treated and packed seed | Cooperative farmers and seed buyers |
Planned units and market channels from the Grain Hub and group business plans. Seed multiplication requires licensing and inspection arrangements.65,76
Product range and buyer enquiries →Why oilseeds and feed
Uganda produces about 80,000 of the 410,000 tonnes of vegetable oil it consumes.15 Its oil mills have more than 3,000 tonnes a day of capacity but grow less than 20% of their raw material locally,14 and in 2026 processors were still reporting that oilseed supply lags processing growth.16 The feed industry needs about 2.3 million tonnes a year for poultry and pigs,17 while Uganda grew about 200,000 tonnes of soybean in 2022/23.18 The planned oil and feed units would serve these markets.
How it works
The farmer network
| District | Cooperatives | Farmers |
|---|---|---|
| Kaberamaido | 11 | 8,282 |
| Serere | 9 | 3,670 |
| Soroti | 5 | 3,504 |
| Amuria | 4 | 2,360 |
| Kumi | 4 | 1,648 |
| Bukedea | 3 | 1,230 |
| Ngora | 1 | 651 |
| Katakwi | 2 | 487 |
| Total | 39 | 21,832 |
Status
The facility is not yet built. The plan is being re-based for financing, and DMI's target is to grow organised production to more than 50,000 farmers within five years of the Hub starting operation.65