UPCOCOA Cameroon

Short UPCOCOA news


UCOPROC starts season with eight pick-ups and CFA 50 Million working capital	September 2008

Yaounde, Cameroon, 25 September, 2008 - Today the union of cocoa cooperatives in the centre province, named UCOPROC, had a launching meeting of their first cocoa season in the presence of the secretary general of the Minister of Trade, the secretary general of the minister of Agriculture and the secretary general of the ministry of planning. On the program were the donation of eight brand new pick-ups and the official handing over of working capital to the cooperatives to start buying cocoa from their members. The Secretary General said he is very happy to see that since the official launch of the project in March 2007, where the minister of Trade was present, the UPCOCOA project put action with their words and put in place a strongly market oriented organisation: UCOPROC. He said that the donation of the eight pick-ups to farmer unions is a unique and highly appreciated. It is a sign of hope for all cocoa farmers in Cameroon. With the availability of these pick-ups, the computers, with the mutual accountancy system and the availability of the working capital the cooperatives will actually be able to start their collecting activities in a responsible and professional way. The working capital with a minimum of 50 Million is available due to a good business plan and a collaboration agreement between Microfinance organisation FIFFA and the Rabobank Foundation. A photo-impression of the day, can be found here

Creation of the umbrella cooperative:‘UCOPROC’	December 2007

The 10th of December was an important day for Upcocoa. It was the official day of the creation of the umbrella cooperative:‘UCOPROC’. “Union des Cooperatives de la Province du Centre”. This name was chosen by the cooperatives themselves. A more commercial name still needs to be chosen by them for the marketing of the cocoa on the international market. 47 out of 48 delegates (6 of each cooperative) were present on the 10th of December. After agreeing with the statutes the members of the Board of Directors and the Supervisory committee were democratically elected. As well as the president and the vice president of the Union. Unanimous acceptation of the statutes of the UCOPROC Secret voting of the Board of Directors of UCOPROC Group photo of the delegates of UCOPROC and the ISCOM project coordinator: 10 December 2007

Eight General Assemblies (GA’s)	November and December 2007

In November and December 2007 all eight cooperatives decided to join the Union. The project coordinator of ISCOM represented all European partners as a witness at these GA’s. In their General Assembly the members of each cooperative selected six delegates to represent their cooperative in the General Assembly of the Union. Before the farmers decided to join the union there was an informal meeting. In this informal meeting the objectives of the Upcocoa project were gone through and important elements in the statutes of the Union were explained and discussed: elements like the zero-loss policy, that all members of the cooperatives must be individuals, the process of harmonization of the statutes and the set up of accountancy systems. All farmers had the possibility to ask questions to the Upcocoa representatives about the project. A lot of questions were asked and all became clearer to the farmer members present. With applause and raising hands it was clear that all members present agreed to join the Union.

Eight farmer cooperatives join the Upcocoa Project	March 2007

Yaounde, Cameroon, 1 March, 2007- Today eight farmer organisations of cacao farmers in Cameroon – all registered cooperatives or cooperatives in formation – have joined the Upcocoa Project. They signed a cooperation agreement in the presence of his Excellency Mr Luc Magloire MBARGA ATANGANA, Cameroon’s Minister of Trade. According to Mr Atangana Mbarga, there has been no lack of good ideas about cocoa marketing but what fails is convincing practice. The Upcocoa Project is strongly market-oriented. As Minister of Trade he finds this highly appreciable. This is exactly what the farmers and the country need. Representatives of cocoa cooperatives, Upcocoa and the minister of commerce after the signing ceremony. Read more (our press report in pdf-file).

To sign or not to sign: the UPCOCOA collaboration agreement	January 2007

This month the UPCOCOA team in Cameroon will communicate with a number of pre-selected farmer cooperatives. The meetings are organised to present the project and to acquire approval and commitment of the cooperatives on the Upcocoa project. Besides that, the Upcocoa project team will assess the cooperative’s potential to meet the project’s requirements. All considered farmer cooperatives will have a meeting with the UPCOCOA team. The entire acceptance process is going to lead to the signing of a collaboration agreement and membership of the UPCOCOA Consortium of Cooperatives in Cameroon.

Official kick-off of the UPCOCOA project	November 2006

The meeting in Yaoundé 7 and 8 November 2006 was the official kick-off of the UPCOCOA project. Besides the project partners, several farmer organisations and NGO’s were present. The purpose of the meeting was to develop a work plan for the coming months and discuss the involvement of cooperatives in the project. As an overall criterion, the meeting emphasised the need for an enterprise-oriented approach focusing on adding value and creating a sustainable flow of income to the farmers. The present representatives of farmer organisations made a significant contribution by pointing at the real needs of the farmers and their present efforts to organise themselves. The final steps to decide on the inclusion of a number of farmer organisations will involve various meetings with their members, assessment of their potential and willingness to comply with organisational and professional requirements, resulting in the signing of a collaboration agreement by March 2007.