The Importance Of Agricultural Co-operatives And Their

Commercial ostrich farming.
enterprises like ostrich farming,
beekeeping and floriculture, fodder
production,processing of dairy
products , piggery, processing
of different types of agricultural
products and many other agricultural
undertakings.
“It should be noted
that agriculture is an
economic activity that
requires dedication and
commitment”
The Importance of Agricultural
Co-operatives and their future in
Botswana
CO-OP
OP
Source:
Source:
Ministry of Agriculture
Ministry Division of of Agriculture Agricultural
Division of Agricultural Co-operatives Cooperatives
Private
P.0
Bag
Box
00298
86
Gaborone
Gaborone
Tel: 3950706/725
Tel: 3950710/725
Fax: 3951657
Fax: 3901595
Regional Co-operative Offices
Regional Co-operative Offices
Tel: 5440227, Kanye.
Tel: Tel: 5920529, 5440121, Molepolole. Kanye
Tel:
Tel:
5920529,
4630473,
Molepolole
Serowe.
Tel:
Tel:
4630473,
5729874,
Serowe
Mochudi.
Tel:
Tel:
5729874,
2412092,
Mochudi
F/town.
Tel: 2412092,
agric co-ops
Francistown
agric co-ops

AGRICULTURAL CO-OPERATIVES
A co-operative is defined by
Ewell P. Roy (1964), as a business
that is organized, capitalized and
managed for its member patrons,
furnishing and/or marketing
goods and services to the patrons
at cost. It should be noted that the
primary purpose of a co-operative
is to make profit for the member
patrons. This means that the
profit harvested is given back to
the member farmers who utilize
the services of a co-operative.
That is why co-operatives are
regarded as non- profit making
organizations.
History of Agricultural
Co-operatives
Agricultural Co-operatives in
Botswana started way back in
1964 by Serowe Marketing Cooperative
whose major purpose
was to sell Agricultural Inputs
and market farmers’ livestock to
Botswana Meat Commission. Later
many more Agricultural Marketing
Co-operatives emerged and spread
all over the country. The oldest
Horticultural Co-operative is
Kolobeng Horticultural Co-operative
Society, which was registered in
1975. There were very few Crop
Production Co-operatives as well as
Dairy and Small Stock Co-operatives
by then since there was no market
for them.
The population was still small and
almost every household could
produce those goods for subsistence.
It was very cheap to produce during
those times. Now things have
taken a different dimension. Cost
of production has gone very high
hence high capital investment. This
means that no ordinary Motswana
can afford to stand alone to produce
commercially and sustainably. We
need each other.
in numbers. Because these cattle
speculators had the financial
strength and management
expertise, they had a competative
advantage over co-operatives.
The third reason was related to
beef prices offered by the major
market which farmers considered
low and non motivational.
The fourth reason was that
investors consider agriculture as
a very risky undertaking due
to negative effects of drought,
diseases and other natural
disasters.
Where we want to go
The situation has now taken a
different dimension. All that have
been threats to co-operatives have
now turned in to opportunities.
Farmers are once again beginning
to realize the need to come
together and form production
and marketing co-operatives. The
Botswana Export Development
and Investment Authority (BEDIA)
is also weeding the ground for
export opportunities, and it is
upon co-operatives to utilize them
by venturing into non- traditional
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Agricultural Co-operatives: The key to
Poverty Reduction and Employment Creation
Who should go into
Agricultural
Co-operatives
Everybody who would like to
benefit from the advantages may
go in to co-operatives. Women
and youth must take the lead.
“Lefatshe le thata ka basadi ba
lone”, so says the Setswana
song.
Why Agricultural
Co-operatives
Social impact
Co-operatives impact positively
on members lives to which they
Modern mechanized arable farming equipment.
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belong. As groups, a number
of farmers have, over the years,
reduced the effects of hunger
and poverty by engaging in
small agricultural production
institutions.
As nations, and indeed the
Botswana Government, has waged
war against poverty. Agricultural
Co-operatives are a vehicle through
which poverty reduction measures
are taken. Small as they may seem,
they provide a daily meal for the
members. Most members of these
groups do not receive government
handouts and are not classified as
destitute. This reduces the burden
on government who would
otherwise provide for them.
Small agricultural co-operatives
mean a lot to the members. It can
be agreed that their continued
existence is a clear indication that
they have a social
meaning to the
members.
Consider a
small cattle
marketing
cooperative
w h i c h
has been in
existence for
forty-two (42)
years, which
neither
m a k e s
profit nor
losses. The
underlying
reason
behind this
scenario is that
the co-operative
serves a poor small farmer in the
rural area to give him a chance to
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sell his two cattle to BMC, without
being exploited by the middle
man. This is the responsibility that
co-operatives have toward their
members. They tend to fill the void
in the rural areas, i.e. In many
cases they are found where
profit driven investors
would not dare to go.
This is a remarkable
development in the
lives of the rural people,
and in particular, the
small farmer.
Economic Impact
Economics, as a social
science is about the
exploitation and wise
use of the countries
resources. Agricultural Cooperatives
ensure that even
the small farmer participates in
the economic development of the
country. How is this realized?

Small as you are, you can go into agro-business in
partnership with others and contribute to Botswana’s
Self Sufficiency in Food Production
1. Livestock Marketing
Co-operatives
A collection of ones and twos
leads to hundreds. It has once
been on record that co-operatives
were the highest single supplier
of livestock to BMC. The high
throughput share is a result of
the use of co-operatives by small
individual members who bring
their small numbers together and
sell to the abattoir. In doing so,
the BMC is able to sell to the
lucrative European Union (EU)
market and the result is an inflow
of funds in to the economy.
2. Arable/Crop Production
Cooperatives.
Likewise, small horticultural
concerns participate in the
development of the economy
by reducing the quantities of
vegetables that could otherwise
be imported. The existence of this
institution results in a reduced
outflow of funds for purchase of
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vegetables outside the country.
It might be insignificant, but the
accumulated savings become
significant.
Economic participation by citizens
does not only mean engaging in
large enterprises.
Even small enterprises (micro) are
a force to reckon with.
The future of Agricultural
Co-operatives in Botswana
Where we come from
After independence, agricultural
co-operatives were growing at
an increasing rate and in the
late eighties, their growth started
to slow down. This was due to
different reasons, some of which
were the droughts, which took
several years from 1980 till late
nineties. Another major reason
being that other cattle agents
other than cooperatives began to
realize business potential in cattle
marketing hence they increased
Advantages of Co-operatives
Co-operatives are a key to the
development of people both
at grass root level and middle
level. In order to survive in
the globalization era, farmers
need to join efforts to be able
to compete with giants and
penetrate the markets. In cooperatives,
farmers have the
opportunity to:
* Share capital
for investment
* Share the production
and market risks
* Share responsibility
and accountability
* Share the benefits
* Share ideas
Women removing weeds in a horticultural field.
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With Co-operatives, you
don’t need huge sums of
money to start an agrobusiness,
only determination
and co-operation.
Agricultural Co-operatives are
a key to successful agricultural
Industry.
Remember the new technologies
for agricultural production and the
need to produce enough to feed the
nation and even export. That is not
easy for one man.