Success
Can Be Attained By The Co-operative Movement
Most
people define cooperative as a special type of enterprise. They say it is a type
of social enterprise that balances two main goals, which are; Satisfying Its
Members’ Needs, and Pursuing Profit and Sustainability.
Another
food for thought also maintains that cooperative society is an association of
men and women who come together to form a jointly owned, democratically
controlled enterprise where generating a profit is p.
But In 1995 International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) definition
of co-operative stands accepted by all co- operators today. The definition
which is:-
A
co-operative society is an autonomous association of persons who have
voluntarily joined together to achieve a common economic and social objective
through the formation of a jointly-owned and democratically controlled business
organization. Which its Members are expected to make equitable contributions to
the capital required and also to accept a fair share of the risks and benefits
of the undertakings. Co-operative societies work on the principles of self-help
and mutual assistance to provide services for their members in a prudent and
effective manner.
Within
the structure of the Cooperative movement, people are placed before profit. It
is also the duty of the co-operative managers to help their members achieve
their shared social, cultural and economic aspirations. Hence it is considered
a social enterprise that promotes peace and democracy among its registered
members and the general public who had interest in its activities.
It
has been established that presently around the world, mostly in the Africa
Continent that nearly one in seven people suffers from under nourishment, yet
the world has the means to eliminate hunger and fuel sustainable
development. The only authority that
can effectively be able to provide much of the extra food needed to feed more
than nine billion people by 2050 is the neglected smallholders, who are made up
of members of the co-operative farmers group. Therefore, one of the necessary
steps every government arm in all nations of the world , including Nigeria need
to take to achieving food security is to support and invest in Farmers
Cooperative Groups, Producer Organizations and other Rural Institutions.
Numerous success stories ever achieved
anywhere in the world have shown that rural institutions like producer organizations
and cooperatives contribute to food security by helping small farmers, fisher
folk, livestock keepers, forest holders and other producers to access real
skilful information’s and latest developmental techniques, which can be
regarded as tools and services they needed. Having access to these tools and services
will go a long way in helping the farmers increase food production, market
their goods and create jobs, for the teeming unemployed.
For instance, in 2007-2008, the price of
maize soared by 74 percent and rice prices climbed 166 percent. Many small producers
were not in a position to respond by increasing their crop production,
productivity and, ultimately, income. The reason is not far fetched; it’s
because, most small producers in developing countries face numerous
difficulties in the areas mentioned above. This inability to access
information’s has led to their often being removed from what happens on
national and international markets. For government and other superior
authorities to encourage them, the followings must be observed:
- The genuine
co-operative farmers must be identified
- impostors
in the farming business must also be identified
- The basic
needs of the actual farmers must be sorted and met as required
- Plans of
the impostors should be thwarted or other wise, they must be ready to make
absolute change
- Operational
Agricultural Banks should be set up and financially empower
- The banks
so set up for this purpose must direct all its functions towards the grass-root
Farmers Cooperative Groups
- The All
Co-operative Farmers Association (ACFA) should be legally given the
authority to supervise, manage, and guarantee the return of any loan or
financial support given to any farmers in all regions in the country.
- (ACFA) should be authorised to operate in
all the states of the federation in order to meet up with the challenge of
eradicating the impostors in the farming business.
Farmers also
face difficulties accessing
high-quality inputs because most
co-operative farmers are left to cater for themselves without a congregating
apex body. On this ground, when the selling price for crops may be higher,
farmers also have to factor in the variable cost of buying seeds and fertilizer
before deciding to expand their production. As access to loans to buy these
inputs as discussed earlier has also be prove to be a problem for the farmers.
Even when all
these conditions are
favourable, many small scale producers face still other
obstacles such as lack of transport to bring their produce to local markets, or
the absence of proper infrastructure in rural areas.
Well established cooperatives and other
producer organizations like the All Co-operative Farmers Association are able
to overcome difficulties such as those described above because they are a
representative, Association who have the man power, skills and all it takes to
compete with other merchants in the agricultural sector, by offering their
members a variety of services.
Defending the right of its members and streamlining their activities.
The ACFA, also conduct workshops and seminars where its members are expected to
be informed. They also address members on where and how to access inputs, and
how they can promote their Agric-Business. They also facilitate their
participation in decision making-processes. This is expected to strengthen
the capacities of the productions of her members. The services which range from
access to natural resources, and output markets, technologies and regular training
of the members on how to produce enough for the satisfaction of the populace
and for export. Therefore, every co-operator must understand that there’s no
limit to what he/she can achieve, if he believes in him/herself.
Call our Customer Care on: +234-522-908-21, +234-8035-7787-16
Our secretariat is: 262,
Upper Ekewuan Road, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria.
For
more information on the activities of this Group, “THE CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY
WATCHDOG” and to get answers to the following questions, or to acquire the book
Code of Best Practices for co-operative managers;
