By CHRISTOPHER CHISI –

A SENIOR Government official in North-Western Province has challenged district cooperative unions to operate  profitably  if they are to serve as a channel for economic development.
North-Western Provincial Agricultural coordinator Derrick Simukazye said this when he graced the North-Western Province Cooperative Union annual general meeting at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) offices in Solwezi.
Mr Simukazye said agricultural cooperatives and farmers need to broaden their thinking and start viewing agriculture from a business perspective.
He noted that if well managed, cooperative unions had potential to serve as a source of wealth creation in rural areas.
Mr Simukazye regretted that while other cooperative unions are striving to diversify their businesses, others are still inclined to the Farmer Inputs Support Programme (FISP).
“It is regrettable that most of you district cooperative unions have businesses married to the Farmer Input Support Programme in form of transportation, warehouse management and property leasing opportunities. You need to diversify into other business such as value addition to the abundant raw materials in the province,” Mr Simukazye said.
He urged farmers to diversify their business activities and take advantage of the open international trade with neighbouring countries to trade in commodities such as beans, groundnuts, timber and livestock.
He said the Government recently shifted the Department of Cooperatives from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Commerce Trade and Industry in order to help cooperatives develop in the business sense.—NAIS