The cooperative strengthened its dedication in 2024 by changing into a part of the ‘Projet d’Appui au Développement du Cacao’ (PAD-CACAO), which goals to develop cocoa farming in Cameroon. The programme is led by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Growth.
To determine the principle areas of intervention, the PAD-CACAO undertaking deployed a Nationwide Coordination crew in Ihund (the cooperative’s head workplace) on 22 and 23 Might 2024, to be able to perform a participatory analysis with the affiliation’s members.
By means of discussions and sharing of experiences, this participatory analysis was supposed to:
Analysis objectives and course of
By means of discussions and sharing of experiences, this participatory analysis was supposed to:
- accumulate socio-economic information on the cooperative’s members in order that actions will be tailored;
- perceive the principle difficulties encountered by the ladies producers and collect their recommendations;
- outline an motion plan to succeed in the cooperative’s objectives.
To fulfill a most variety of ladies cocoa farmers, the Nationwide Coordination crew went to Ihund, in addition to to the three places of work of the cooperative: Iaakok, Pendjock and Ndog Njé (which has merged with Ihund).
Animation of the Rural Girls of the Iaakok workplace
The 2 days of discussions have been organised in collaboration with the ‘Conseil Interprofessionnel du Cacao et du Café’ (CICC), which already helps the cooperative in its improvement.
Every participant crammed in a really detailed identification sheet to gather the next data:
- identification of the girl producer;
- her manufacturing, processing and advertising and marketing information;
- her monetary habits;
- any issues she has encountered and any recommendations she might have for future motion.
Filling in identification sheets at Iaakok
The aim of gathering this data was to find out the income-generating actions, listing the manufacturing issues, prioritise probably the most worthwhile crops and thus set up an motion plan to assist the cooperative to realize its objectives.
The outcomes of the analysis
Due to a poor phone community within the area, solely 24 of the 50 ladies anticipated acquired the invitation and took half within the conferences.
Nonetheless, evaluation of the information collected helped us to determine main socio-economic developments among the many cooperative’s members. The next are a couple of key figures:
- solely 17% of the members are underneath the age of 35 (the strenuousness of the work is thus to be taken under consideration sooner or later actions to be applied);
- 61% of the members have a main schooling degree and 35% a secondary schooling degree;
- 7 ladies are financially depending on their kin;
- 100% of the ladies members of the cooperative make their residing from the advertising and marketing of agricultural merchandise, and solely 4% elevate livestock farming (not all of the cocoa fields are but in manufacturing, which implies that ladies make their residing from different crops like cassava, macabo, yam, plantain bananas, and so forth.);
- 74% of the monetary assets come from the producers’ personal cash;
- 40% of the members save their assets after gross sales and 35% have their very own checking account;
- 91% of the members pay their monetary obligations, together with membership charges and annual dues;
- 70% of the workforce is family-based, and solely 30% has short-term worker standing.
Strengths
Every farmer has between one and 4 plots of meals crops on common, and one hectare of cocoa bushes. The analysis recognized the crops that should be intensified to be able to pool advertising and marketing (primarily cassava and maize).
Because of the survey, it was additionally attainable to determine the pure assets accessible within the rural space of Ihund, and the extra earnings alternatives they may create as soon as developed.
The principle difficulties
Nevertheless, the survey additionally revealed main difficulties encountered by ladies producers.
They talked about specifically the infertility of the soil (typically bolstered by the apply of slash-and-burn agriculture), the presence of bugs and pests that damage harvests, important losses, particularly on plots cultivated in polyculture, the poor high quality of seeds, in addition to outdated and inappropriate instruments.
When it comes to advertising and marketing, group gross sales actions are at present underneath improvement, however the producers deplore the poor state of the roads and the dearth of technique of transport, which make advertising and marketing very troublesome.
Discussions and sharing of experiences regarding manufacturing questions
Motion plan and areas of intervention
An motion plan has already been established with the ‘Conseil Interprofessionnel du Cacao et du Café’ to help the cooperative members for 3 years in all points of growing their enterprise:
- enterprise administration, management, administrative and monetary administration, negotiation,
- tools and infrastructure upkeep,
- cocoa farming data and experience (cocoa tree agrosystem, productiveness, cocoa farm regeneration, processing strategies, preservation, packaging, and extra).
- setting and high quality (sustainable environmental administration, consciousness of cocoa traceability, well being necessities, and so forth).
On the idea of the analysis and all the information collected, the PAD-CACAO crew determined to focus its help on supplying high-performance seeds and strengthening the agricultural data of the Rural Girls of the Littoral.
This represents an ideal step ahead for the cooperative. We shall be maintaining an in depth eye on the outcomes of those actions over the approaching months!
Photograph of the Rural Girls of the Littoral on the cooperative’s head workplace in Ihund.
