21 May 2014

Agricultural co-operatives are key to human resource development at both grass root and middle levels.

But some people in the rural communities are not aware of the vitality of going into co-operatives and usually miss out on the benefits and opportunities derived from co-operatives.

In an interview, principal co-operatives officer in the Department of Agri-business in Tsabong, Ms Boitumelo Mabu described a co-operative as a business that is organised, capitalised and managed for its member patrons. It also supplies and market goods and services to the patrons at a cost and ultimately makes profit for the members.

“This simply means that the profit harvested is given back to the member farmers who utilise the services of the co-operative. It is for this reason why co-operatives are regarded as non-profit making organisations,” she said.

Ms Mabu said that agricultural co-operatives in Botswana started way back in 1964 by Serowe Marketing Co-operative whose major purpose was to sell agricultural inputs and market farmers’ livestock to Botswana Meat Commission.

Many other co-operatives mushroomed afterwards and spread all over the country with the oldest co-operative being Kolobeng Horticultural Co-operative Society registered in 1975, she said.

By then, she said there were very few crop production co-operatives as well as dairy and small stock co-operatives due to lack of market. The population was still small and almost every household could produce subsistence goods, she added.

Principal co-operatives officer said that things have since changed and taken a different dimension. The cost of production has gone very high hence high capital investment and a clear indication that no ordinary Motswana can afford to stand alone to produce commercially and sustainably, said Ms Mabu.

However, she advised farmers to join hands if they were to penetrate the markets and compete globally. In co-operatives, she noted that farmers have the opportunity to share capital for investment, production costs and market risks, as well as share responsibility, accountability, ideas and benefits.

Ms Mabu said Agricultural co-operatives should be promoted as they are a key to successful agricultural industry and also impact positively on members’ lives as it reduces the effects of hunger and poverty.

“Co-operatives are a vehicle through which poverty reduction measures are taken. Small as they may seem, they provide a daily meal for the members. This reduces the burden on government who would otherwise provide for them,” she said.

She said co-operatives afford small farmers an opportunity to participate in the economic development of the country. She called upon youth and women to take the lead and venture into co-operatives, adding that as farmers they could partner with others to go into agro-business and contribute to Botswana’s food production.

Economic participation by citizens, she said does not only mean engaging in large enterprises but that even small enterprises are a force to reckon with.

She said the high throughput share is a result of the use of co-operatives by small individual members who bring their small numbers together and sell to the BMC which ends up selling to the European Union (EU) market.

Horticultural farmers, she said also contribute to the economy by reducing quantities of imported vegetables from neighbouring countries.

Ms Mabu said that after independence, agricultural co-operatives were growing at an increasing rate and in the late eighties, their growth started to slow down due to droughts.

In addition, she said some cattle agents who had realised the business potential in cattle marketing increased, and with their financial strength and management expertise, they provided tough competition.

Other reasons, she said included the low beef prices which were offered by major markets and did not motivate the farmers while other investors considered agriculture as very risky undertaking due to negative effects of drought, diseases and other natural disasters.

Ms Mabu said due to changing trends, things that were seen as threats in the past have now turned into opportunities which need to be explored.

The Botswana Export Development and Investment Authority (BEDIA) is also weeding the ground for export opportunities, and therefore it was upon farmers to start co-operatives by venturing into non-traditional enterprises like ostrich farming, beekeeping and floriculture, fodder production, processing of dairy products, piggery, processing of different types of agricultural products and many other agricultural undertakings.  Ends