By Ian Ortega Aliro
Last month, I immersed myself inside a wheat and maize milling operation. One of the most eye-opening experiences of my career so far.
I started in the Quality department. I always assumed the Quality guys were just chilling in those white lab coats. I was wrong. Every day I was picking hourly samples, running tests, getting my hands dirty.
For wheat, you’re testing moisture content, protein content, falling number, and gluten index, all of which directly impact flour performance. Going to make bread? You need flour with a high falling number, otherwise your loaf won’t rise. These aren’t small details. They determine the quality of food on millions of tables.
Then came the aflatoxin conversation, and this one shook me.
Uganda has a serious aflatoxin problem in maize, starting long before the mill. Poor harvesting, poor drying, poor storage. Fungi grow on the maize germ and produce aflatoxin, a toxin linked to numerous cancer cases, and it’s heat resistant up to 150°C. You can’t cook your way out of it.
I also left with a changed perspective on maize flour. Many Ugandans believe the best flour is pure white. But that means stripping out the bran and losing key nutrients with it. The most nutritious flour retains some bran component.
From Quality, I moved into the milling process, receiving, cleaning, conditioning, milling, sifting, and storage. The millers challenged me constantly. Milling is both a science and an art, and the people who master it deserve far more recognition.
I also spent time with silo management, packaging and dispatch, and finished my final week with the engineering and maintenance teams. That last one felt like coming home, the grease, the tools, the camaraderie. Engineers operate like soldiers on a frontline.
One statistic that stayed with me: in 2025, 𝙐𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 750,000 𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘 𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙩, and that number is growing. Every grain of it imported.
This immersion has been invaluable. But the value chain isn’t complete yet. Next stop: a bakery. I’m looking for a full immersion, working alongside the team, not just observing. If you run a bakery or know someone who does, I’d love to hear from you.
About the Author: Ian Ortega started as a mechanical engineer, ran innovation and capex projects at Uganda Breweries/Diageo, and earned his MBA at Strathmore. Today, working inside a wheat and maize mill, he brings engineering precision and business strategy to one of Africa’s most urgent questions — how do we feed ourselves?
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