Jeanne Aganwi from Benin got more power

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Jeanne Aganwi is a farmer in Benin, West-Africa. We, Géke Appeldoorn and Nellie van der Pasch (Agriterra), are in this country and meet Jeanne at a visit in the field. Jeanne is married and mother of four boys and three girls in the age of seven to twenty-one years old. We meet her at her cornfield, the field she got from her husband. Besides the corn production, she makes oil out of palm fruit.

For the last fourteen years Jeanne is a member of the mixed organisation, called “Misètaplé”. This stands for “let us unite to become strong”. She become a member to meet other members, to get more powerful and stronger and to increase her knowledge capacity. Misètaplé is a member organisation of the UCP, the Producers’ Community Union.

Jeanne tells us she made great economic progress on her own the last three years. She used to invest 5.000 FCFA (about 7,75 euro) in her cornfield, but this year she could invest more. She doesn’t know exactly how much, but it was enough to afford an expansion of her field. 

For the work on the field, Jeanne has employees. For the less fertile parts of the land, she uses fertilizer. Jeanne gets this from the UCP. A part of her corn production is used for sale, the other part she saves as seed for the next season. 

Four year ago Jeanne started making oil out of palm fruit. The start of this was difficult, she didn’t had the right materials, knowledge and skills. It’s getting better now, because she can borrow a machine for the oil making. She produces more than in the beginning, but is depended of the machine, which isn’t always available. With a group women she would like to buy a machine of their own, which they can use together.

Her husband a also a piece of land, its bigger than hers. Jeanne works on this field too, this is the land where food grows for her family. The money she makes by selling the corn, is used for schoolmoney of her children. Her oldest son is graduated from highschool and will go to the university soon.

According to Jeanne there are many advantages of being a member of UCP and Misètaplé. She had leand money to buy herbicide, and to lean to others sometimes.

Before our meeting with Jeanne, we als spoke to some other members of Misètaplé. They said the main activity of this organisation is credit service. The organisation pay those loans with the contributions of the members. This weekly contribution recently raised from 100 FCFA (about 15 eurocent) to 150 FCFA (about 23 eurocent). Some other activities, besides the loans, are the preparation of soap, the sell of soda and the storage of palm oil. Misètaplé gets support from two groupleaders of the UCP, one of them is a woman.

Jeanne says the only service she uses from the organisation, is the loan she gets and shares with a group. Most of her economic activities she managed on her own. On immaterial level she made a positive change because of the loan, she got more confidence, courage and power.