By Kennedy Mupeseni –

COOPERATIVES play a fundamental role in job creation, economic transformation and sustained livelihoods if well nurtured.
Data from the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) suggests that cooperatives provide jobs or work opportunities for approximately 280 million people across the world.
ICA points to the fact that 12 per cent of humanity is part of the three million cooperatives worldwide representing a significant contributor to sustainable economic growth .
The World Cooperative Monitor Report released in 2020 revealed that the top 300 cooperatives in the world contribute to a total turnover of $2.1 billion hence the need to leverage on its potential to grow the local economy.
The cooperative model based on democratic decision making and the concept of working together towards a common goal makes the most appealing economic model.
From the Zambian perspective, by 2019, the country had 9,498 registered cooperatives with about 1.6 million members, with the majority being in the agriculture value chain.
Going forward, more people are expected to register cooperatives following the New Dawn Government policy focused on citizen economic empowerment through cooperatives.
Recently, Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Minister Elias Mubanga disclosed that the new citizen economic empowerment model has stimulated interest in the public to formalise businesses as Government targets to register a record 26,000 cooperatives from last year’s 14,000.
“The new citizen economic empowerment model has stimulated interest in the public to register cooperatives, we are targeting to register 26,000 cooperatives from last year’s 14,000 which will stimulate local economic growth,” Mr Mubanga says.
And Indian High Commissioner to Zambia Ashok Kumar says Zambia should leverage on its Cooperative movement concept to exploit the inherent untapped economic potential.
Mr Kumar says India is ready to share its massive experience in successfully implementing Cooperative models for economic development.
“If the Government of Zambia desires, India which has successfully implemented Cooperative models for economic development, may consider providing support and assistance through sharing of knowhow and experiences of different Developmental models in the Cooperative sector,” he adds.
Mr Kumar was speaking in a presentation at the Lusaka Business Indaba and Expo organised by the Lusaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Show Grounds recently that cooperatives are economic game changers.
He gives an example of the Cooperative Movement in India which was born out of the distress and turmoil that prevailed in the last quarter of the 19th century which finally led to the formation of the first Cooperative Society in 1890 in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
Using the Cooperative model, India has managed to exploit the sugar, fertilizer, dairy, Credit and procurement of grains thereby contributing significantly to the growth of the economy.
Hence, there is need for Zambia to replicate the Indian experience by developing Cooperatives into successful business enterprises.
While acknowledging some successes made by Zambian cooperatives, he says the Zambian cooperative movement is facing both internal and external challenges such as under-capitalisation, lack of professional management, inadequate entrepreneurship and management skills, among others.
“Lack of experiences, failure to respond and adapt to the changing microeconomic environment, low literacy levels as well as low information communication technology adoption levels,” he observes.
Mr Kumar also observes that the unorganized farming sector is facing high input cost and high credit as well as lack of market access to its produce which needs to be resolved.
The fact that Zambia has huge untapped land resources of about 40 million hectares makes a good case for more investments in agriculture production.
“Further the country has large water resources, good agro climatic conditions, ample rainfall and relatively better human resources in the region,” Mr Kumar says.
The country has huge potential to drive the sugar industry using the cooperative model.
Being a tropical country, it has a friendly climate and soil conditions which favour sugar cane cultivation.
“A successful sugar cooperative initiative may result in multiple benefits like the production of ethanol which may be blended with petrol, production of molasses, pulp for paper and cardboard infrastructure facilities,” he says.
There is need to put in place an enabling environment to facilitate the growth of cooperatives.
Key enablers like concessional loans and credit support, value chain support, market linkages and favourable Government policies are critical in enhancing the participation of cooperatives in the economy.
Mr Kumar further observes that progressive policies of the present Government like the recent increase in Constituency Development Fund (CDF) from K1.6 million to a high of K25.7 million would play a positive role in the development of cooperative industry in the country.
“I may suggest that a part of this fund go towards supporting entrepreneurial initiatives and the growth of cooperatives in diverse sectors.
There are examples like Genuine Millionaires Movement and a recent example of Mapepe Dairy Cooperative Society in Chilanga where Indo-Zambia Bank is extending financial support worth K500, 000 through its Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises Loan Scheme, which help to expand milk production to 1.20 million litres from 60,000 litres per month,” he says.
Mr Kumar says although all the 10 provinces have potential economic development through cooperatives, Central, Southern and Eastern Provinces were singled out as having the leverage to strengthen cooperative societies. Central Province is a recognised agriculture region because it has potential for growth of agro-based industries including livestock.
Besides the local market, the region catered to the demands of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with a common border.
“It is well served by the Great North Road, Kapiri Mposhi –Ndola road and also falls on the Zambia Railways and Tanzania-Zambia Railways Authority,” he further says.
Mr Kumar adds that Southern Province is the other agriculturally rich province in which maize and sugar cane have proved to be sustainable.
In Eastern Province, he says maize, cotton and tobacco are the major cash crops with small-scale farmers growing ground nuts and soya beans which a call for stronger cooperative industry to revive the full economic fortunes of the region.
Therefore, there is need to work on measures to set in motion the cooperative movement in the country so that they are run as businesses that can contribute immensely to the growth of the economy.