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Cameroun: Cooperative Societies - Where Things Went Wrong
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Cameroon Tribune (Yaoundé)
24 Juillet 2008
Publié sur le web le 24 Juillet 2008
Lukong Pius Nyuylime
A few weeks ago, one of the most prominent cooperative unions in Cameroon, the West Central Cooperative Union (UCCAO) celebrated its golden jubilee.
Although the anniversary activities had as August guest, the Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Jean Nkuete and the Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana among other dignitaries, it was a feast celebrated with lots and lots of mixed feeling. The ecstasy that usually surround such celebrations was absent and the feasting really timid, so to say.
The same dispensation could have occurred with any other cooperative society or union in Cameroon. The reason is simple. Cooperatives are no longer the safety valve on which farmers depend for survival. Two major incidences are believed to be at the origin of the collapse of some and the dwindling of many: the disappearance of the National Produce Marketing Board (NPMB) and the liberalisation of the sector by government. If the first reason is blamed on mismanagement d embezzlement, the second appears to be the outcome of an ill prepared decision.
Of the 558 metric tons of Arabica coffee exported in May through the Douala port, 54 metric tons belonged to UCCAO while 290 tons were shipped by the North West Cooperative Association (NWCA). The iota of hope raised by the slight increase in the export of the same coffee specie in June, where UCCAO exported 82 metric tons and the North West Cooperative Association, 222 tons of the total exports of 546 metric tons, is no reflection of any panacea.
In the 70s and 80s, all roads led to the cooperative unions or societies. It was the farmers' sure channel to market their produce, most of them cash crops and to obtain in-puts for cultivation. As one would recall, they had a very faint knowledge of the international market. Many did not even know what coffee or cocoa was used for. But thanks to the cooperatives, even in that ignorance, their products went through and they earned the profit from their sweat.
We are told that in the North West province, over 11,000 metric tons of coffee was produced and prepared for exports. Today, with its 23 cooperative societies and seven unions, the province can only boost of assembling about 1,000 tons annually. How can one forget the hey days of the South West Farmers Cooperative Organization (SOWEFCO), which could only compete with the famous Cooperative Union in Lekie in cocoa production. Today, the South West Provincial Chief of Service for Cooperatives and Common Initiative Groups, Vesoh Pius Ndong talks of barely 15 percent of the 354 registered cooperatives functional.
The important role of cooperatives in agricultural development can be testified by the regret farmers are having on their gradual disappearance. We are talking here about structures that ensured the steady supply of fertilizers and pesticides to farmers or structures that trained farmers on farming methods and ensured that they have continuous cash flow throughout the year.
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How hard it is to wind the clock backwards. Hopes of reinstating the value of cooperatives were dashed following the closing down of the NPMB and the liberalization of the sector in the early 90s. The second act ushered in quacks, many of who created white elephant cooperatives or farmer associations with the intension of penetrating the existing unions and hastening their collapsed. In effect, the well intended decision to liberalize the sector ended producing nefarious effects as farmers continue to ask for its revision. Many think that for agriculture to be completely revived, the cooperative societies should be brought back.
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| Copyright © 2008 Cameroon Tribune. Droits de reproduction et de diffusion réservés. Distribué par AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). Pour tout commentaire ou demande d'autorisation de reproduction ou de diffusion, contactez directement le propriétaire des droits en cliquant ici. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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