News

Great commitment brings great success

Written by Olika Urgessa, Cooperative advisor Ethiopia

Resource mobilisation and members’ commitment in realising the establishment of new enterprises can solve certain cooperative members’ problems.

29 Aug

Ambitious farmers (4)

We believe that working with professional farmer cooperatives is an investment in a stable, prosperous agri-sector, in the economy and in wider society. Ambitious organised farmers across the world want to develop, become entrepreneurs and business partners, add value and move up the supply chain. This has a positive impact on economic growth, poverty alleviation, inclusiveness, food and nutrition security, and climate resilience and mitigation.

We interviewed 9 ambitious farmers from Tanzania (5), Kenya (2) and Ethiopia (2) to find out if their situations have changed since becoming members of a cooperative. Each week, you can read an interview.

Farmer 4: Paul Kariuki from Kenya

22 Aug

Farmer Focused Transformation reflection

Written by James Sablerolles and Esmee van Schuppen

Halfway through phase 1

2023 is a critical year in the field of sustainable development because it marks the halfway point in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is a time of reflection, critical review, and a reality check. Despite global efforts, the latest data paints a concerning picture, with 30% of the SDG targets showing no progression, or even regression below the 2015 baseline. Consider, for example, SDG 2, which aspires to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030. Despite global efforts, projections show that an estimated 600 million people – 7% of the world's population - will still suffer from hunger in 2030. This is the same proportion as in 2015, meaning that there will no progress on SDG 2.

16 Aug

Ambitious farmers (3)

We believe that working with professional farmer cooperatives is an investment in a stable, prosperous agri-sector, in the economy and in wider society. Ambitious organised farmers across the world want to develop, become entrepreneurs and business partners, add value and move up the supply chain. This has a positive impact on economic growth, poverty alleviation, inclusiveness, food and nutrition security, and climate resilience and mitigation.

We interviewed 9 ambitious farmers from Tanzania (5), Kenya (2) and Ethiopia (2) to find out if their situations have changed since becoming members of a cooperative. Each week, you can read an interview.

Farmer 3: Nackson Ngimbuchi from Tanzania

08 Aug

Ambitious farmers (2)

We believe that working with professional farmer cooperatives is an investment in a stable, prosperous agri-sector, in the economy and in wider society. Ambitious organised farmers across the world want to develop, become entrepreneurs and business partners, add value and move up the supply chain. This has a positive impact on economic growth, poverty alleviation, inclusiveness, food and nutrition security, and climate resilience and mitigation.

We interviewed 9 ambitious farmers from Tanzania (5), Kenya (2) and Ethiopia (2) to find out if their situations have changed since becoming members of a cooperative. Each week, you can read an interview.

Farmer 2: Etagen Jemal from Ethiopia

02 Aug

Establishment of an animal feed processing plant

Written by Olika Urgessa, Cooperative advisor Ethiopia

Chercher Oda-Bultum Farmers’ Cooperatives Union, with 168 primary cooperatives and 65,113 individual members, has been an Agriterra client since 2017. The Union is situated in the West Hararge and East Hararge zones of the Oromia regional state in Ethiopia. In these areas, landholdings are highly fragmented, with most farmers owning small plots of land. The majority of this land is used for growing the common cash crop, Khat/Qat, leaving limited space for crop cultivation and livestock rearing. Among the farmers, livestock fattening activities, particularly cattle and goats, are prevalent, and the "Bullock of Harar" is renowned for its tasty and organic raw meat. Additionally, certain regions practice dairy production.

26 Jul

Creating awareness on league formation

Written by Elizabeth Gezahegn, Cooperative advisor Ethiopia

In Ethiopia currently, there is a three-tire system: Primary cooperative → union → federation.
According to Ethiopian Cooperative Commission (ECC) official report (2021) there are more than 92,755 cooperatives in Ethiopia with 21,043,370 members (6,743,429 female and 14,299,941 male). There are 21,328 Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOS) with 5,384,559 members (3,122,454 female and 2,262,105 male). The savings and shares of these SACCOS are 18.54 billion ETB ($ 425,687,860).

In 2016, the Ethiopian Government revised the cooperative proclamation. The revised proclamation allows the formation of cooperative leagues or apex organisations in the country. As is stated in the proclamation, primary cooperative societies, cooperative society unions, and federations may establish a league that represents all cooperative societies in Ethiopia. Thus, many cooperative unions and primary cooperatives have been requesting the formation of a cooperative league, which will be the voice and representative for all cooperatives.