News

Ambitious farmers (2)

Farmer 2: Etagen Jemal from Ethiopia

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.

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.

Ambitious farmers (1)

Farmer 1: Edwin Nyambulapi from Tanzania

WhatsApp for easy communication

Written by Prince Essah, Cooperative advisor Ghana

Akyemansa (Fine Flavor) Co-operative Cocoa Farming and Marketing Society Limited is a dynamic Registered cocoa co-operative in Ghana owned by its producer members, created with the primary aim of optimum wealth creation for its members.

A journey towards sustainable potato seed production

Strategic plan to expand the abaca fiber business

Written by Guido Guerra, Team Lead Planning Monitoring Evaluation and Learning department

San Isidro Upland Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative (SIUFMULCO) is a primary cooperative established in 1989 located in the island of Mindanao (Philippines). San Isidro cooperative is engaged in the trading of abaca fiber produced by its members as well as sourced from other local cooperatives. The cooperative purchases abaca fiber from farmers in three buying stations and then transfers it to a centralized warehouse where the fiber is sorted, cleaned and packed (baled). Then, the cooperative sells the fiber to local exporting traders.

Impact of the Technical Assistance Facility

For several years the Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) has provided advisory services to SME’s, financial institutions (FI’s) and cooperatives worldwide. This page links to seven impact stories displaying the wide variety of support and possibilities TAF has to offer. The provided advisory and technical services have led to cooperative development, farmer transformation, strengthened business performances and increased incomes.