Cooperatives change farmers’ fortunes
Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) decision to rejuvenate cooperatives that were dying a natural death in the country has been hailed as a blessing in disguise by farmers in Mchinji and Ntchisi because they are now profiting from their sweat.
FUM facilitator for Ntchisi Felix Tera, speaking during a recent media tour of the two districts, said there are six cooperatives in the district and farmers are encouraged to buy shares to sustain the cooperatives.
“The cooperatives are doing wonders here. Just imagine, Sopani Cooperative produced 700 bags of Soya while Dete Cooperative managed to harvest 400 bags. Once the soya was sold, the farmers made thousands of kwachas and some have built houses while others have purchased expensive household gadgets,” he said.
Tera said cooperatives such as Mawiri produced 695 bags of Soya, Gamba 165 bags, Senga 725 bags and Chidwi Chathu got 140 bags of soya in a single planting season a thing which was not possible when they were working in isolation.
“As Farmers Union and with support from Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa [Agra], we rehabilitated warehouses where the farmers store their crops and we also give farmers training on how they should take agriculture as business,” he said.
One of the leading farmers who is chairperson of Sopani Cooperative, Thomas Chiwala, said he managed to harvest 30 bags of Soya and when he brought them to the cooperative, he raked in K250 000 which he used to build a house with burnt bricks.
“I have already managed to purchase fertiliser and I do not regret my decision to join a cooperative. Having been a farmer for over 13 years, I have never managed to harvest as much as I did last year and the future looks bright,” he said.
Sidoniya Chikuse of Nkhunguyembe Agribusiness Cooperative in Mchinji agreed with Chiwala that cooperatives are what the country needs if farmers are to be protected from unscrupulous traders.
“When we were starting in 2011, we had only a few of us but now we are over 600. Before the cooperatives were set up we were selling our produce to vendors and we were making huge losses because we were not empowered,” She said.
Chikuse, who produced 27 bags of Soya and 100 bags of maize last year, managed to buy a generator, a plasma TV and has a healthy bank balance in her account.
“I am much better than some of those who are working because of the impact of cooperatives. Today, vendors cannot buy my crops because I know they will rip me off because of the education I get from advisors. As a cooperative, we aggregate our crops and sell them to organisation such as Auction Holdings Commodity Exchange and Farmers World,” she said.
FUM chief executive officer Prince Kapondamgaga said cooperatives will take many farmers out of poverty because when they are working in a group, they can easily access inputs, loans as well as information.
“With cooperatives, farmers are empowered and the country can easily move forward when farmers are working in groups unlike when they are operating on their own,” he said.
