Countries follow different approaches that are believed to be meaningful in cascading their aggregate economic policy and goal, in order to bring development in the economy and improvements of lives of their citizens. These approaches differ depending on their own actual condition.
Among these different mechanisms, in bringing together different peoples with different resource and potential and enabling them for common achievement through common and organized effort, cooperatives become the very preferable and also successful one.
Witnessing such success story, recently Tsehay Farmers’ Cooperative Union, which is functioning in Gondar, inaugurated modern edible oil factory, which dominantly financed by its member farmers and can produce edible oil from about seven oilseed items produced in surrounding areas. According to the information from Federal Cooperatives Agency, in Ethiopia, cooperatives are established and given legal personality under declaration no 985/2009 and Tsehay Farmers’ Cooperative Union is among 388 cooperative unions registered throughout the country yet.
Speaking on the inauguration of this factory, Federal Cooperative Agency Director Usman Suruur, indicated that; “Cooperatives are demonstrating a big success stories in Ethiopia, of course we have about 85000 basic cooperatives, 388 cooperative unions and 3 regional cooperative federations that could peruse to have more than 20 million members and more than 23 billion Birr capital.
And now such achievements of Tsehay Farmers’ Cooperative Union, boosts their development,” the director stated. Tsehay Farmers’ Cooperative Union General Manager Endalkachew Abe told The Ethiopian Herald that, from about 100 million total capital investments for the installation of this modern edible oil factory, about 71 million ETB, is covered by the contribution of member farmers. “The factory can use as an input Sesame, Soya been, Peanut, Sunflower, linseed and others and these enable the factory to operate the whole year with any of available products among these,” he added.
Explaining that, Tsehay Cooperative Union was exporting raw of aforementioned seeds to different world markets in the past years, he said that; “Now our Union will be more and more beneficial in that we can export these value added products of oil, which have high demands in the market. We also believe that we will have role in stabilizing local markets by filling the gap in supply and over costs on consumers.” He also explained that the factory is the first in Ethiopia, by producing edible oil form Sesame and also by using about seven oilseed items.
Meseret Adugna, is member farmer from Alefa wereda, Atsede Mariam basic cooperative, he said that; “My basic union is the founder of Tsehay Farmers’ Cooperative Union, It is very recently that our Union is working on such vast degree, now we are benefiting many things from this Union, it provides different consumer products, that our basic cooperative retail to farmers and also we are benefiting from annual dividend benefit.”
But Meseret as a member mentioned that; especially basic cooperatives’ financial activities have no audit and he mentioned they may pass years without hearing audit reports. Amhara regional state Cooperative Agency General Director Haileleul Tesfa for his part told The Ethiopian Herald that; “we have audit service from regional to the woreda level, however when it comes to basic cooperative, because of factors such us limit in number of auditors to address all cooperatives, the poor accounting system of basic cooperatives and related thing rarely basic cooperatives may wait for audit beyond the time allocated.
However, the audit of Cooperative union is being conducted annually for all of them and the audit coverage at regional level reaches now more than 80 percent and more than 88 percent they are free of deficit.” Endalkachew also added that, as cooperative union their capacity is increasing time to time, the participation and motivation as well as the benefit of their member is also increasing, “But now with the opening of this factory we believe our member farmers also will benefit more, because the factory can produce about 10,000 liter oil, by using 300 quintal seeds per day and it demands more than 700 000 quintal oilseeds annually, these attracts more and more production from our farmers and the surroundings.
We buy oilseeds with good price and we will provide them edible oil with low price and good quality in comparison to the market.” he added. FCA General Director Usman Suruur also added that; “The effort and experience of Tsehay Farmers’ Cooperative Union is what we need to promote to other unions in the country and they should also share this experience, in that working focusing on available resources in our area and value adding activity is very much crucial to the economy and improvement of peoples live.” FCA Cooperatives Marketing Directress Yirgalem Enyew, for her part said that; “As aggregate level cooperatives are striving with lack of finance especially in getting loan, sells and production places and market chain.”
Appreciating Tsehay Cooperative Unions’ success she said that; “We have more than 678 small to large factories owned by cooperatives that add values on agricultural products, hence we are doing number of activities in promoting their products and services to consumer’s households, organizations like universities, hospitals and others, in creating market access effort.” Yirgalem, indicating that, they are working closely with Tsehay, since the beginning of the factory, moreover she said that; “Our support as a federal bureau will continue to make the factory successful. As we support them yet so that their products could get certificates and become competent.”
Herald March 12/2019
BY YOSEF KETEMA
