By Bett Kipsang’ and Dennis
Kipkirui
Cooperatives play an essential
role in employment generation, poverty alleviation and food security and are
extremely important in the agricultural sector. They supply agricultural credit
and funds and have the potential to deliver goods and services in vital areas
where state and private sectors have not been able to do very much.
The Ng’arua
Co-operative Society (NCS) started in 2001 as a self- help group with only 14
farmers as members. Today it boasts of individual membership of 2000 and an affiliated
group membership of 40. Credit for inception has largely been dedicated to one
Mr. Irungu, the then Divisional Agricultural Officer, who helped farmers to realize
the need for value addition on farm inputs. The group has developed a grand master plan
that will propel this farmer’s organisation to revolutionize the economy of
Laikipia County.
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| Mr. Charles Thuku the factory supervisor inspecting the flour. |
NCS is
situated along Nyahururu-Kinamba road in Laikipia County of Kenya, Its main
activity is milling of maize flour, production of livestock feeds and supply of
farm inputs. It relies on farmers to run its operations. The cooperative
provides market for maize which they buy in bulk from farmers.
The
co-operative society was transformed in 2008 from a self-help group after
increase of membership with support from the ministry of cooperatives and
marketing. The society which runs a milling plant currently has an asset base
of $ 179,878 (Ksh.15 million). Its
capital was largely drawn from resources pooled together by farmers. In its
initial stages K-Rep, a micro-finance institution granted them a loan to start
the society. The society has also received support from Co-operative Bank and
Kenya Industrial Estates (KIE).
The funds have
been used for training farmers on maize drying, cereals banking, right seeds
selection, value addition and quality of produce. Committee members and
employees have also been trained on business and management skills. The funds
have also supported building related
infrastructure that includes a filling station, an administration complex, and
farmer’s shop among others.
The society
has a managing committee which oversees the planning and management, the
committee meets quarterly to discuss their business progress. The society has a
constitution and a strategic plan in place which governs the day to day running
of their activities.
The society
has employed 19 people and occasionally recruits casual laborers in its
operations. All workers are members or immediate family members of share
holders. The driving factor behind this is the inculcated ownership in the
organisation that makes employees feel the need to work hard to build their
institution.
‘It is possible to
operate as a cooperative , we can collect cereals from other cooperatives,
in the whole county, so we hardly lack
supply of raw materials, we want to also venture into cereal banking, says Mr.
Charles Thuku, the Manager.
The main
challenge has been internal wrangles among members and lack of a proactive
support by the government. According to Mr. Charles Thuku who is currently
overseeing the operations of the milling plant, these teething problems are
largely contributed by the local committees as most of them lack the requisite
knowledge of running a co-operative society and are only in leadership by
virtue of ownership. He pinpoints cases of some even forcing their hands in
recruitment of employees.
On the part of the government, Mr. Thuku indicates
that officials don’t visit them regularly and only intervene when the society
has problems. They also fail to give regular advice to the society on its
growth and general development.
There is
evidence of replication of the practice. This is seen from the many small posho (maize flour) mills in the area
which mill and sell flour. In addition, a Multi-purpose Farmers Cooperative
Society has been started in Sipili as a result of the success noted in Ng’arua
Cooperative Society.
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