One of the many examples of how cooperatives played a role in the attainment of the overall goal of Rwanda’s Vision 2020 to make better livelihoods for all Rwandans is IAKIB, a cooperative bringing together dairy farmers in Gicumbi District.
The cooperative started in the 2000s by members who had received cows under the national cattle-stocking programme called Girinka – One Cow per Family – Programme.
At its inception, IAKIB would collect a small quantity of milk – about 200 litres per day, which has since grown to about 40,000 litres per day, according to IAKIB president, Pierre Celestin Hakizimana.
The cooperative began with 200 members, but it has 4,000 today with 7,000 cows.
It buys a litre of milk at Rwf200 from its farmers, and sells it at Rwf220.
Thanks to the cooperative model, IAKIB has secured a deal to supply much of its milk to Inyange Industries Ltd, a local agro-processing firm.
"Had we not worked in a cooperative, it would be impossible to find market for our produce in an effective way,” Hakizimana said.
The cooperative has since built three Milk Collection Centres (MCCs) at the cost of more than Rwf200 million, which have been crucial in preserving their milk.
Hakizimana said that they have also set up a processing unit that makes maize flour, and animal feed worth Rwf400 million.
The processing unit, he says, currently can process seven tonnes of maize flour per day depending on demand.
"No single individual could manage that and almost all members were poor and we toiled to find what to feed our families; all we achieved was possible through joint
Other benefits that have come with pooling their effort together was possible for them to get manure for their farms, which has exponentially increased harvest from their farms.
"They used to go to Uganda to buy beans, but recently, Ugandans have been buying them from Gicumbi (Rwanda),” he said.
He said that the livelihoods of the cooperative members significantly changed for the better.
"The members of are able to pay community-based health insurance. None of the 4,000 members is in the first or second Ubudehe category – the group of the neediest people. Yet, before, most of them were in the first Ubudehe category,” he said.
In addition, he said that in some cases, the cooperative supports its members raise school fees for their children on credit, or loan to expand their farming activities, and they can pay later through milk.
Socio-economic impact
Hakizimana pointed out that the cooperative has almost single-handedly made Gicumbi District a lead supplier of milk zone, and through it, residents have come appreciate the value of a cow.
Prof. Jean-Bosco Harelimana, Director General of the Rwanda Cooperative Agency – the public institution in charge of promoting and regulating the cooperative organisations sector in Rwanda – said that the Rwandan society was ripped apart by the 1994 genocide against Tutsi, but, the cooperative movement helped to mend the society, and improved the livelihoods of Rwandans.
"This is an outstanding programme because it has enabled people to work together in restored unity after the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi – which torn the Rwandan society apart –, and get profits through joint efforts. It fostered social cohesion, and economic transformation,” he said.
Furthermore, he said that cooperatives have contributed to the implementation of other government’s programmes.
"For instance, members are the first people to pay contributions to community-based health insurance – Mutuelle de Santé – because there is a fund meant for that [health insurance] in each cooperative,” he said.
Promoting businesses
Talking about how cooperative model can help small businesses grow into big companies, Harelimana cited COPRORI Mukunguri, a cooperative of rice farmers in Kamonyi District, which owns a rice factory that processes produce from its members.
The same cooperative also owns and operates a maize milling factory that adds value to maize grown in the area where it operates.
"The cooperative also has a factory to make briquettes from rice husks which can be used for cooking,” he said.
Theophile Biziyaremye, Manager of Abahuzamugambi ba Kawa ya Maraba, another coffee cooperative in Huye District said that they currently own four coffee washing stations, and one dried coffee processing factory.
With more than 1,460 members, the cooperative produces between six and 10 containers of green coffee depending on the season, each containing 19.2 tonnes.
"Working in a cooperative enabled farmers to have bargaining power, and get easy access to the market,” he said, adding that each member also received a pig and goat so as to carry out livestock farming.
He added that the cooperative has a credit and savings group whereby a member can get a credit facility between Rwf10,000 and Rwf500,000 which they can use in case of an emergency and repay through coffee sales.
Cyatwa Ngarambe, President of ADARWA, a cooperative engaged in making furniture in Gisozi Sector in Gasabo District has a commercial building worth Rwf3 billion.
"Working in a cooperative enabled us to get an adequate workplace having 95 workshops where there are people with varied skills which make our work efficient. If it was not for the cooperative, it would be very costly for an individual to get a workshop and employ all the needed staff,” he said.
He added that the cooperative is acquiring a machine worth Rwf180 million to properly dry timbers which he said will enhance its profitability by tackling losses caused by poor drying technique.
According to RCA’s Harelimana, in 2005, there were 919 cooperatives counting about 250,000 members, indicating that there are more than 10,000 cooperatives – including Umurenge savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) – with over 5.3 million members in 2020.
He said that the cooperatives’ share capital was less than Rwf1 billion in 2005, which grew to Rwf68 billion currently, while savings in cooperatives are over Rwf204 billion.