1 A Co-operative Union of the Southern Cameroons was formed in 1955- 1955-It acts as the supreme policy-making body representing the .co-operative

movement and provides an opportunity for grievances to be.discussed and.

resolutions passed. ...It publishes, a quarterly .n9ws--shoot. It is

grad-^-11^-Mteking over auditing and ^inspection services frpjca the Co-operative Department. as trained staff become available. Departmental- staff and

■selected personnel from sooi.eties have up .till now been trained at the

Co-operative College.in the Western Region of Nigeria... Short .courses

fo:p secretaries of societies have been held regularly in different parts

of ..the. Cameroon's, In both 1957' and.1958s a two-month course for senior

-.staffs of co-operative, departments from 'a number of African territories

.was, held in Bue.a* .

■ ; ;The results of co-operation in the .Cameroons.have boon mani-:

f ostod -in. improved .crop production and especially psst control, and in a noticeable, rifio in tho standard of living among smnll farmers and .

..their" families, . ; . . , - . . ....

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SUDAN

£ Sudan: has a. population, of 11,500,000, scattered over great . ,.,

distances, The. prinpipal Rational.resources are agriculture and stock, breeding, and the principal cash crop is cotton. Much of this is grown on estates or planned settlements like the Gezira Scheme, with their own

credit and marketing arrangements, but much is also produced on compara tively small independent farms.

Co-operation,began about thirty years ago with spontaneous associa- , tions. of cultivators for the pumping of Sfile water for irrigation , r. , purposes. In.190 Mr. WJC.H. Campbell was invited to report on the possi-.

bilities of co-operative development. As. a result of his. recommendationsj a Co-operative Societies Ordinance was passed in 1948? a Co-operative

Department was set up, and the. training of officials, either locally or.

abroad, was.taken in hand. Propaganda was initiated and the existing. . pumping.associations, together.with some agricultural clubs, were con-,

verted into co-operative societies and,registered. These were followed

by new formations, mainly agricultural, but with a substantial;number.of , , consumers'. societies. By'.1958 the, total number of co-operatives .stood, . ;

at 450 with 95? 000 members, . ■ ,.. . -....'. :J ,....,v

The.oldest group of societies and those with the most substantial:

capital a??e the 88 agricultural pumping schemes. These are.nearly all,. , ..

in the,.Northern.Province3 most of them on the ¥hite Hfile, South of . : , ,

Khaxtoum«..: The pumps replace the traditional wooden wheel or sagia. T^e

members of the co-operative collect funds to buy a pumping plant, con struct buildings and prepare the canals necessary for an irrigation

scheme'for a village or group of villages. The financial success of tEe

scheme depends largely oh the command of an area large enough to secure

the full economic use of the pump. Tho Government is proparod to mako .a ,

loan to.assist in the initial capital outlay, and the Hile Pumps Control

Board gives a priority to.co-operative schemes second only to that of

government estates, Where the land belongs to the government and the

member^ of the society are tenants, they deliver about ^Ofo of their

production"to th& society/ This is sold, and after meeting all the

j5^

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expenses of the pumping scheme? the "balance, if any, is returned to th©

member in proportion to the produce delivered, in societies the members

of which dim their land water is sold at a reasonable cash rate,. ;

^There.'are. 118 marketing.and credit societies, most, of them in the

rain farm,.arease . Their main purpose is to combat usury. Most of the members are not owners of tfcsir land? and loans, derived from the.govern ment and latterly from the Agricultural Bank, are secured on crops and

livestock: and'rt:?b 'roraid_ln produce. Thosvstc^ was", initiatad .through "a oarefully controlled pilot scheme in l95l/2v supervised by the Ministry ' of Agricultures the local and district administration and tne Co-opera tive Department'. Th¥'4 government advanced & 30,000, which was lent to" '":

ncnibGrs cf co^cpo^tiven irifoub or avVi^stelSaitiiJSj cc^cring the-cost bf'^soocL?''"'"' cultivation and minimum" food needs of farm families up; to tiie Harvest, ""I11 The pilot scheme was successful;, "but1 ah attempt to extend itJlr'ai)ifaly..

and with iess; supervision,1 rah into "difficulties. "Plans have been made to establish'three markViang and credit unions;" which will act' a

mediaries'lie'tweeh' th8:'fec-o"perotiv"i3:I)eiJa"rtinent and"the BankV and the "

primary societies Mil "take: seme' responsibility for the distribution recovery of loans and especially for the marketing""of'produce. ■■".

In addition to the agricultural co-operatives formed by small cult

ivators,.-thorQ-aro "fivo Cotton' tfaions', the members''of which are owners"

of small and-medium1 estates. "They 'arc'"engaged in the provision of credit and in' marketings ' They" have fcaen" suebefrsful and their number is likely to increase;; :! " "■ "■ *"; ■ ■"■ |1' -:- ':'-i:'' ' '• : ■-'■■■ ' ■ :' '"■"'

, ?^er.e arQ 38 general py^cses societies, .with over 25., 000 members.. . . Most off these are in th© GeEsirs, area, whero the financing and marketing ,, of the cotton crop (the most important cash crop) is. provided for by.the (nationalised) ff^^ira .Board, The general purposes'.societies .are ..at ... ■

present engaged mainly in supply? s,nd they could gerhajos bei ."better des—F,. .'

cribed as rural .consumers' . societies, .though they "sell, agricultural ..'...,."

requirements^ . Their main .weakness is the familiar one of excessive credit

giving. There.,are also 171.Email _consumers * societies, most of them ,in

urban areas? with total sales of about J.S 750,000. Less than half of them

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Dans le document The co-operative movement in Africa (Page 96-99)