Members Highlights 2016

AMPCM- Mozambican Association for the Promotion of Modern Cooperatives

Introduction

AMPCM is an entity founded in 2010 and acts in the following business areas: credit, health, animal husbandry, production services, recycling, consultation and housing.

AMPCM Activities on the 5 Pillars of Cooperatives

Participation

AMPCM held an AGM on April 16th, 2016 where new governing bodies such as Board of the General Assembly and Board of Directors were elected.

Communication

The AMPCM X General Assembly interviews and articles were published in four newspapers

Cooperative Finance

AMPCM has through its member cooperatives such as Credit Cooperative Women Nampula (CCMN), Cooperative Rising Sun (Sun Living), Cooperative Credit Women Nacala and Solidarity Savings Cooperative developed business initiatives to facilitate credit services, savings and banking services to its members. It also aims in promoting the construction and acquisition of properties for its members at lower prices compared to the market rate.

Sustainability

Actions in progress

Legal and Policy Framework

AMPCM held meetings with the Prime Minister and Ministry of Justice concerning the Approval of Cooperative Regulation that had been pending since 2012. They also prepared the third draft of the law on the Tax System for cooperatives.

Federation des Cooperatives Maraicheres du Niger (FCMN-Niya)

Participation

Each of the 75 Unions of Cooperatives pay annual contribution for the general functioning of the organization. Also, various technical committees have been set up to encourage members’ participation which includes: Resource mobilization committee whose main role is to improve financial capacity of FCMN; Watch Committee whose role is to improve internal and external communication; and Committee on the cooperative societies whose role is to improve technical and financial management.

Sustainability

FCMN and cooperative society have highly engaged in the development of economic activities both at national and unions of cooperatives levels. They have come up with the following income generating activities:

  1. Buying potato seeds from international firms and selling them to the members
  2. Production and commercialization of onion and onion seeds
  3. Production and commercialization of sesame

Cooperative Finance

Most of funds to finance cooperative activities are mainly from donors. A survey conducted by FCMN and the cooperatives societies showed that though subsidies are still relevant in some areas and to some farmers, their inadequacy in time and amount are judged sustainable-wise as irrelevant. Therefore, FCMN will focus for the next five years on the development of economic activities in the union of cooperatives.

Policy and Legal Framework

FCMN has embraced the initiative of the African states that abides by Niger government to revise the law on cooperative to comply with the OHADA directives on cooperative societies.

UNILAK

University of Lay Adventist of Kigali (UNILAK) in Rwanda has been imparting quality education to its students since 1997.

UNILAK held a High Level Meeting on Examining Success Factors for Sustainable Rural Development through the Integrated Co-operative Model (CCA/IDRC funded project) on 11th to 17th February 2016. The meeting gathered researchers from SASKATCHEWAN University (Canada), Makerere University (Uganda), Moshi Cooperatives University (Tanzania) and UNILAK (Rwanda). The meeting intended to present the new knowledge and assess the impact of the model as well as identifying the key elements of an enabling environment that would allow the model to achieve its full potential in rural development. The meeting also depicted the development of the cooperative businesses involved.

The research findings discussed in the meeting were carried out between March 2013 to March 2016 in Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Canada. It was found that structures for the integrated co-operative model existed in all the survey countries. However, they found there was a need for policy and strategy of transformation from traditional co-operative societies to entrepreneurial co-operatives. Secondly, countries needed strategic administrative models with strategic exit plans. Thirdly, youth participation in agricultural marketing co-operatives was found to be critical in generation of new ideas and innovative cooperative practices. Lastly, they found there was a need to improve private sector relations with the co-operative movement in all round strategy for promoting interaction between investor owned firms and co-operative enterprises.

 

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