Block Commodities teams up with Pure Grow Africa for Uganda project

Commodity trader Block Commodities announced a strategic partnership with Pure Grow Africa - a supplier of agricultural produce based in Uganda - on Friday.

The NEX-traded firm said itself and Pure Grow would be working together in connection with the first pilot of a food project commodity cycle ecosystem - the ‘Pilot Ecosystem’ - in Uganda.

The two parties would also establish a strategy to maximise the project's results, including the development of a call centre, the creation and distribution of a mobile app, the production and transmission of a television show, the development of logistics and warehouse protocols, and

the creation of a 'fertiliser swap' opportunity for harvested agricultural products.

Block Commodities described Pure Grow as an “innovative farm supporter” in Africa, embracing modern technologies and applications to promote economic growth, while creating community awareness and shared values.

Farmers linked to Pure Grow reportedly aimed to adhere to the highest standards of food safety, environmental and sustainable policies.

Through the agreement, Pure Grow would initially introduce approximately 1,000 farmers and buyers to the Pilot Ecosystem.

Block Commodities would implement and support the ecosystem by providing finance and fertiliser products, as well as supplying the technology.

It would coordinate loans in cryptocurrencies - Dala token - for the selected team of farmers from Pure Grow Africa.

The aim of the loans would be to provide farmers with funds to purchase fertilisers at affordable rates and better repayment terms, allowing them to increase production and scale up from a subsistence to commercial level.

“I am delighted to partner with Pure Grow Africa to push forward our ecosystem project and support smallholder farmers to grow production,” said Block Commodities executive chairman Chris Cleverly.

Bobby Juuko Kimbugwe, director at Pure Grow Africa, added that his firm was placing smallholder farmers at the centre of its work, saying they were “at the core” of what the business does.

“We want them to understand that they do not need to have money in their hands to be able to grow production.

“Block Commodities is the ideal partner to support growth in African farming.”

Upon successful completion of the pilot phase, Block Commodities and Pure Grow aimed to roll out the scheme to reach around 50,000 farmers linked to Pure Grow.

It was intended to expand the project to cover other countries in sub-Saharan Africa in due course.