GREEN COOPERATIVE SOCIETY CAMEROON

G-COOP-CAM

Business Plan

Green Cooperative Society Cameroon with Board of Directors (G-COOP-CAM) BoD incorporated on the 26th November 2020 as primary multipurpose cooperative, under the overriding principles of the OHADA Uniform Act on the rights of Cooperative Societies adopted in Lome-Togo on the 15th of December 2010, and all National laws regulating the functioning of Cooperative Societies in Cameroon. G-COOP-CAM is engaged in agricultural production operating in all the ten Regions of Cameroon, working farmers producer groups, previously Green Cameroon Common Initiative Group GCMAM CIG since 2008. The key economic activity of the cooperative members is to produce and transform food crops for the market. The objective is to build a commercially viable cooperative centered on the members primary producers and then market the member food crops output in premium formal market channels.

The integrated business model enbles the cooperative in which all stages of production, processing/packaging and marketing covered in-house by the Society and its members, with a clear division of roles and responsibilities among members, farmer groups and the cooperative. This business model enables the G-COOP-CAM to control all stages in the value chain and offer producers food purchase price above the national average. The value prepositions are to deliver high quality, high yielding, and climate-resilient seed to our farmers and provide a reliable, consistent supply of high-quality processed food to our clients. The target potential domestic market estimated at over 21 million people nationwide, with over 1million consumers within South West Region, and over 5million within the Littoral Region, and other parts of the country, the regional and international markets of Nigeria, Central African Republic & Equatorial Guinea.

The overall objective is to create a competitive business model needed to deliver the business, social and welfare objectives of the cooperatives. The Cooperative will reach at least 450 farmers targeting 5000 ha of food crops; Cassava, plantains, peppers, spices, vegetables, palm oil and maize. For livestock; chicken, goats and pigs. For fish; Catfish and . At a production rate above average because of the production and distribution of organic fertilizer, targeting production of up to;

2,000 tons of cassava tubers,

200 tons of maize,

30 tons of pepper,

50 tons of plantains,

05 tons of spices,

12 tons of vegetables

08 tons of fish

25 goats

48 pigs

2,500 chicken annually.

The objective is to grow G-COOP-CAM Revenue to an estimated 55.5 million frs CFA by 2025.

The sales and marketing objectives to achieve a sales volume of 2.300MT for the first year to the end of the 5 years and achieve an estimated 40% market share of the next 60 months.

In line with the business plan 2020-2025, G-COOP-CAM BoD projected 240.7 million frs CFA (360.000$), for both capital expenditure and working capital in ensuring that operation is at the optimum level from production to marketing for a period of 3-5years, the society investment expects to invest its funds amounting to 40 million and seeking 200 million in external support. The business financial viability is projected at 18.2%% profitability and a 44.3%% increase in gross profit margins through efficiency gains every year, achieve an estimated 18% financial self-sufficiency by the next 5 years. The venture will immediately create over 1500 new jobs at farmers’ level, 30 and 10 at the value addition and distributor levels respectively in the 5 years representing around CFA 100 million per year in salaries, commission fees, in the G-COOP-CAM Credit Union, promote other farmer-owned enterprises, and increase both the quality and quantity of agricultural yields through a hub of agricultural-related services (farmer education, Agro inputs, Organic Fertilizer, credit, transport, micro and macro processing and other agro services).

The cooperative has atleast 3 competent volunteers for daily operations. The society envisions its success through good governance (competent and qualified board members) and by recruiting more competent and retaining key staff members to maintain continuity of customer relationships in the business operation. The effectiveness of the board and staff will be enhanced through capacity building programs i.e. Board and Staff orientation programs, Staff and Board advanced Programs as well as the general members, BoD and Its Sub Committees, Management personnel. Staff will be recruited gradually depending on the expansion of operations. The board will be committed to developing a management team so that it can focus more on policy formulation and advisory roles. This will result in 10 competent staff employed within the plan period. The future of the business lies in the numbers of loyal customers and farmer members that have the capacity and competence of the employees, our investment strategy, and the business structure. G-COOP-CAM aims to build a business that will survive off its cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running. We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to produce, process and market our wide range of good food crops, livestock and fish products and well packaged processed crops from different varieties production brands a little bit cheaper than what is obtainable in the market and we are well prepared to survive on the lower profit margin for a while.

G-COOP-CAM is newly formed and registered Cooperative in 2020, under the overriding principles of the OHADA laws, the Cooperative Regulation act, and the rights of the Cooperative Societies Act. The society was registered under the Cooperative law with registration number, SW/GP/

G-COOP-CAM is a registered primary Multi-purpose cooperative society with over 210 farmers at the grassroots level engaged in agricultural production. G-COOP-CAM is one of the producers of food crops, livestock, fish, organic fertilizer and is seeking to expand its products to enable it access to multiple markets locally, regionally and at the international level.

G-COOP-CAM production, processing, and marketing organisation, located in the South West Region of Cameroon. We also deliver carefully selected cassava from our partner farmers. Our focus is on providing a high-quality natural product, at a fair price, delivered on time. G-COOP-CAM’s floral source speciality garri, plantains and cassava flour is sold in consumer oriented packaging, gift packs and bulk containers. We will operate on the domestic market and on the external one, too.

The non-member farmers within the communities are even making the sale of their cassava, plantains maize and pepper produce through the society because of the high bargaining power that we have exhibited. The Society intends to evolve to a higher-level farmers organization in the next three years that is why currently 4 small farmers groups pay membership to the society.

1.1 Location of the cooperative offices

G-COOP-CAM head office is in karata besides Red Cross office Limbe, South West Region Cameroon. The Co-op membership is currently organized in Clusters, each cluster consists of producer groups of a specific crops,fish or livestock and there are ten clusters with a total membership of 210 members. The current clusters are; 1) Maize producer group, 2) Cassava producer group, 3) plantains producer group, 4) pepper farmers, 5) Oil Palm producers, 6) Green spices and vegetable producer group, 7) Fish farmers, 8) Goat farmers, 9) Piggery farmers and 10) Chicken farmers. G-COOP-CAM established a fully-fledged food crop value chain system, we have attracted huge attention from the organizations due to high-quality products and a competitive level of bulking that can hardly be seen in Cameroon.

1.2 The cooperative strategic statements.

Our Vision statement: Is to be a preferred member-based cooperative enterprise in improving income and food security of smallholder farmers for enhanced quality wellbeing in Cameroon.

Our Mission Statement: To become the most preferred members-based food producer farmers cooperative enterprise in Cameroon through high production and improved productivity by promoting the latest technologies, networking, partnership, and marketing members produce collectively and profitably.

Our strategic goal: Contribute to sustainable incomes among the member farmers through support to increased production and productivity, processing collective access to inputs, better-paying markets for the cooperative’s products to improve member livelihoods.

Cooperative Objectives

1.To build the capacity of members and governance structures of the cooperative through membership education, sensitization to achieve better welfare by end of 2025.

2.To support market-oriented farming among members and increase member production and farm productivity by facilitating access to quality and affordable inputs, technologies, and credit for production.

3.To organize, facilitate and support collective marketing among members and build market linkages integrating warehouse receipting, bulking and storage management.

4.To process and add value to members’ produce to explore high-value markets and attract premium prices from the cooperative’s products.

5.To promote and participate in business and development partnerships beneficial to the advancements of the cooperatives market-driven business model and realization of the cooperative objectives

Business Objectives: G-COOP-CAM business objective is to be competitive in the regional market for food crops, livestock, fish and build recognizable products and Agro-commodity brand, a well- governed and vibrant member cooperative. The Cooperatives business objectives for the period 2021-2025 are listed below.

Production Objective: To achieve a total production of

2,000 tons of cassava tubers,

200 tons of maize,

30 tons of pepper,

50 tons of plantains,

05 tons of spices,

12 tons of vegetables

08 tons of fish

25 goats

48 pigs

2,500 chicken annually with at least a per capita of 45 to 150 ha and yields of 2,200 tons per year by 2025. This will be achieved through growing the cooperative membership to 450 and have an annual production of 6,400MT by 2025.

Marketing objective: Build the capacity and position of G-COOP-CAM as a respected producer of food crops and increase the visibility of our brand as the leading regional garri, maize and plantains flour, dry fish, chicken and organic fertilizer brand. By producing and marketing 1,766MT of food stuffs and maintain a sales growth rate of at least 20% per year ending 2025,

Profitability Objective: To achieve annual profit earnings of CFA 55 million from the sale of produce and related by-products by 2023 and an average annual return on investment of 35% per year.

Social Objectives

To provide psycho-social support to the Co-operative’s vulnerable members and support community social development programs in health, education, agroforestry and livelihood improvement.

•Create an estimated 1,840 jobs along the value chain (labour and service) based jobs resulting in average annual wage earnings of CFA 22 million per year over the next 5 years.

•Strengthen the food security among cooperative members by encouraging them to retain at least 20% of the products produced each year.

1.3 Membership base

The cooperative membership is from 10 farmerr groups/ clusters and each group has an average of 30 members (male & female) making a total membership-based of 159 members. The society is addressing the needs of members and expects membership to increase to over 300 in the next three years and would embark on youth and women mobilization to form 60% of the membership turn the underutilized land to full production.

1.4 Governance system

G-COOP-CAM is democratically governed through cooperative rules and regulations, bye-laws, and standard operating procedures. The Board of directors and supervisory committees are elected from its members basing on the reputation and during the annual general assembly. The supreme authority is vested in the general meeting of the members at which every member has a right to attend and to vote on all questions. The governance system of our cooperative is based on cooperative principles whereby each member has one vote only, which he or she exercises in person and not by proxy irrespective of the shares held.

1.5 Level(s) of operation

G-COOP-CAM operates as a primary producer society within Cameroon, with Limbe as the head office. The cooperative expects by 2025 to extend operation to all the South West Region with projection to go nations wide.

1.6 Type of services provided to members

The members of the cooperative society have access to affordable specialised services in ensuring cost-effectiveness and efficiencies of farmer members capacity to increase farm production and productivity, these services include

• Supply high-quality farm (certified & tested) inputs at reasonable prices to members.

• Farmers’ produce trading- bulking, processing, marketing, and selling members products-ranging from facilitating sales of members products at the first handler level, to wholesaling, retailing, and exporting.

• Provide specialized services such as tractor services, farm extension, drying, or trucking.

• Financing ranging from share savings mobilisations, credit facilities, farm insurances.

The Cooperative through farmer members produces and trade-in food crops, fish and livestock (input supply, production, assembling, processing, and trading). The target markets for food crops are local, regional and international. Besides Livestock-fish-food crop the Coop. is also working to identify additional enterprises such as agroforestry that can be commercially promoted among members to expand the income opportunities of the members and business portfolio of the coop.

The Co-operative supplies members with farm inputs and supports them with specialized extension and equipment services for production. In the short and medium-term, the Co-operative sources and provide vivacious farm inputs, and crop management finance and technical expertise to boost productivity and acreage of the members.

The farmers’ harvests are bulked in designated collection satellite stores in their respective groups. The Co-operative collects the products from the group farmers’ collection centres and transports the central processing unit/ stores, where it is cleaned, milled, graded, and bagged before putting it to the market. The cooperative is seeking to invest in a warehouse with a capacity of 35,000 MT with state-of-the-art processing equipment.

The Co-operative is working to strengthen its supply chain and production capacity to position itself to take on forward contracts from large scale buyers and retailers as part of its growth strategy. The supply chain which is anchored on the members’ participation and development strategy is pinpointed on building a vibrant smallholder farmer membership base as the primary producers and suppliers to the Co-operative.

Driven by the preceding statements the management and leadership of the cooperative in partnership with our development partners have put together this in a 5-year business plan for guided growth.

Purpose of the Business Plan

The business plan is intended to guide the growth and investment activities of the Co-operative over the next three years ending (2025). It will be a tool for decision making, mobilizing investment capital and member mobilization.

Statement of commitment

The G-COOP-CAM business plan is a decision tool, developed by the management of the Co-operative and approved by the general assembly. This document shall be a principal guide to all be business and socio-economic operations of G-COOP-CAM and each member of staff and the Co-operative will work towards its full implementation.

Business Growth and Investment Strategy.

G-COOP-CAM recognizes that growth opportunities are greater and more sustainable by being consistent in the market. The Co-operative Market strategy in the next three years is to penetrate the selected market segments by ensuring sustained production and supply of our products brand. G-COOP-CAM has identified the business needs and challenges faced by these segments and three critical performance variables to realize big wins.

Consistent and quality products. Stones and dirt’s are key pricing attributes for traders and the market considers important.

•Excellence in contract performance when dealing with institutional buyers and trade markets.

•Reliability and continuity in supply.

To deliver on these three performance variables G-COOP-CAM will do the following.

1.Build a strong and loyal membership to produce for the target market segments; the Co-operative will put in place membership recruitment, retention and loyalty strategy.

2.Ensure quality assurance and quality management strategy and introduce an affordable pricing plan to motivate our target customers.

3.Carry out organizational development to restructure and reorganize the roles and responsibilities of staff in the Cooperative to create capacity competencies to compete in these market segments.

These actions are integral to the business growth strategy of G-COOP-CAM to build a reputation as a reliable supplier for institutional, contract suppliers and retails customers. The Co-operative will also trade in complementary enterprises selected to strengthen the business model. These complimentary enterprises shall be handled on an opportunity basis and at the request of our customers.

Past Performance

In the last year 2020 the Co-operative registered positive trading results as presented in fig. 2 below, however sales revenues and profits dropped in 2018 due to the Anglophone crisis which because of insecurity affected our work.

The cooperatives first real trading took place in 2018, when the bulking and collective marketing was launched. The initial success is the demonstration of the potential business opportunities for organized marketing by G-COOP-CAM.

3.1 Business model and value proposition

The cooperative business model is integrated into which all stages of production, processing/packaging and marketing are covered in-house by G-COOP-CAM, with a clear division of roles and responsibilities among members, farmer groups and the cooperative. This business model enables G-COOP-CAM to control all stages in the value chain and offer producers a purchase price for food stuffs above the national average.

The Value prepositions- G-COOP-CAM is committed to delivering high quality, high yielding, and climate-resilient seed to our farmers and provide a reliable, consistent supply of high-quality food stuffs to our clients.

3.2 Product / Service

The co-operative society offers bundled services for members and products to clients while focusing on the production of livestock, fish, food stuffs and other selected enterprises such as organic fertilizer and agroforestry as our main commercial products. The main product the society offers to the market is processed nutritious food stuffs packaged to food-grade standards.

Our farm products provide the highest health benefits derived from the vitamins and minerals as a food item fit for human consumption.

Key Success Factors (KSF)

The success of G-COOP-CAM Business Model and Plan is hinged on paying attention to some key success factors which will determine the level of performance envisaged in the business plan.

Key Success Factors for the Co-operative’s Business

1.Use of quality planting materials

2.Good land preparation and organic soil fertility management

3.Customer and partner relationship management

4.Member participation, commitment, loyalty & tangible benefit, & profit sharing

5.Building profitable marketing, handling, and distribution networks.

Existing Business opportunities

Food stuffs presents a significant business opportunity at all levels of the value chain. Critical systemic issues at the production, processing and marketing levels have limited the competitiveness of the food crops sub-sector in Cameroon. Garri for example is a highly marketable food crop that commands good market demand and at the same time an important food security staple food making cassava a high-value dual-purpose food crop.

The major consumers besides households are institutional consumers like schools and feeding institutions (programs), the hospitality industry (hotels, restaurants, and roadside food eateries). The majority of them buy their food stuffs from the local retailers, wholesalers, and contract suppliers.

The relatively low surplus has made competition insignificant in the food crop sub-sector in the region, the relatively high gross margins across all stages of the chain provide a key opportunity for maximizing returns if G-COOP-CAM invested in improved management practices as well as run efficient businesses and supply chains. Both the absolute figures and range of gross margins achieved by actors across the chain are good and provide some level of flexibility for making improvements. The use of improved seed varieties and best practices can triple profitability. Cameroon with staple prices, early depletion of household food stocks and declining income from reduced crop sales due to insecurity limited access.

The weakest links in the food production sub-sector are those that involve individual farmers and producer organizations, in either direction of the chain. However, linkages involving out-grower schemes are reported to be strong thus, the strongest supply chains are those that link input providers in out-grower schemes and leading off-takers. In concerning the services, there are existing linkages between all service providers and core actors of the value chain. The notable weak linkages are between extension services, research and development and the core actors of the Value Chain. However, despite existing linkages with providers of financial services, technology and Business Development Services, the suitability of the available services, ability to pay and ease of access remained the main constraints. Currently, there is a strong drive to increase food crop production and this drive is supported by several organizations and projects.

In Cameroon, food crops trade is dominated by informal trade arrangements between buyers (Hawkers/middlemen) and producers with more formal trade transactions occurring among the institutional traders and the importers. The rural markets dominated by producers and local retail markets (both informal) dominated by hawkers account for about 35% of food stuffs traded in Cameroon. The wholesale market channels are driven by rural aggregators who sell food stuffs to urban wholesalers.

3.3 Market structure and analysis

The population growth in Cameroon is unsustainable at a rate of 3.0% one of the highest in the world and calls for an increase in food production to avert challenges of food shortages. The situation in Douala the economic capital is further complicated by the population explosion resulting from the displaced influx which has increased demand for food and food prices. The region is increasingly becoming dependent on food supplies from other regions and imports from cross border sources. Garry and maize flour has become very important food security and staple for most urban communities in Cameroon, it is increasingly becoming important in the rural communities as well. The region has for long depended on imported rice supplied from importers and other major towns as well as local production from neighbouring districts of the Noth West and Western Regions of Cameroon.

The introduction of improved high yielding cassava, maize and other varieties has resulted in increased adoption of food production in many Rural areas that traditionally used to produce cassava and other food crops only for home consumption to marketable crops like cocoa. Food crop farming is beginning to pick in South West, North West and other parts of country responding to the demand and growing market opportunities and food security and income needs of rural households.

The major trading hubs for Cameroonian produced foodstuffs are Mamfe, Kumba, Muea, Bamenda, Mbounda, Douala

The retail price of food stuffs is variable across the country with seasons.

The postharvest, handling and processing technologies used in processing further make Cameroon’s garri less competitive at home and in the regional markets. Generally, in Cameroon aromatic garri varieties like “Super” attract premium prices and are preferred to non-aromatic varieties. Bulging quality is preferred to the non-bulging type, non -sticky is preferred to sticky types while fine sieved garri and corn flour is preferred to the bigger particles, clean and nicely package dry fish will be preferred to frozen imported fish. These properties also influence the pricing of food stuffs for both local and imported brands.

The Structure of the cassava value chain

G-COOP-CAM identify cassava, maize and their by-products in the list of sensitive products with potentials for domestic production and crossborder trade. It is considered that the Importation of such products from outside the Region could negatively affect domestic production and the development of the regional capacity to produce. Other regions agreed that the items would attract rates of over 25 per cent tariff and, in some cases, a mixture of specific duty and ad valorem rates (according to value). Cassava is grown mainly by small scale farmers as well as large scale farmers in some places and schemes like IRAD scheme. The Centre, South West, and Western regions are the leading producers due to the presence of lowland with high moisture content throughout the growing season and the introduction of upland variety in the North West Region. The structure of the cassava value chain in Cameroon is illustrated in fig.1 below.

In Cameroon there are three cassava production systems namely: (i) rain-fed lowland, (ii) irrigated low-land and (iii) upland production systems. Producers are categorized into three as follows: (i) small-scale forming 80% of farmers employed in the production of cassava cultivating less than 2 hectares of land using rudimentary technologies, (ii) medium-scale producers cultivating 2-6 hectares of land and account for 15% of the cassava producers, and (iii) large scale farmers who cultivate over 6 hectares of the land and account for 5% of the people employed in cassava production. However, large scale producers contribute a large proportion of cassava produced in Cameroon due to higher productivity per unit of land and labour employed.

In terms of productivity, the trend of cassava production has been positively changing from 489MT in 2008 to 2,605MT in 2018, this can be increased further through the multiplication and distribution of improved foundation cuttings, mechanization of crop production, efficient irrigation infrastructure, organic fertilizer and provision of extension services.

The domestic cassava market structure

Cassava is grown for two reasons: one for family income by smallholder farmers and two for for-profit by commercial farmers. It’s estimated that only 10% of the cassava and other food crops grown by smallholder farmers is retained for consumption by the households with the remaining 90% being sold to generate household income. The food crops grown by the smallholder farmers is marketed both in rural and urban areas. Typical consumer preferences are guided by the crops characteristics i.e., aromatic to nonaromatic, sticky to non-sticky, unbroken to broken.

Besides domestic production food stuffs are also imported to supplement the local production. By end of 2008, rice was the third-highest import by value into the country amounting to US$ 90 million. Despite some exports, Cameroon remains a net importer of food stuffs. Much of the local food production is consumed within the country with limited quantities exported to the regional markets mainly by commercial producers like G-COOP-CAM. A sub-sector map of the market flows of food crops produced at smallholder levels is illustrated in Fig.2 below;

There are four major trading levels for garri: 1) The retail trade, 2) The local wholesale trade, 3) the Urban wholesalers and 4) the Import wholesalers.

Table 3. Characteristics of the trade actors.

Level Trading Characteristics Target clientele Sources of stock supplies

Retailers

•Buy from local and urban wholesalers

•Tend to buy from the wholesaler across the street

•Sometimes buy stock delivered at their doorstep by rural assemblers

•Pay cash for stocks and have limited or no access to credit supplies

•Stocking rate between 2-5 bags @ 100kgs at a time

•Households

•Hotel and restaurant operators

•Local food /eating houses

Local

Local Wholesalers assemblers

•Buy from local processors/farmers at the fryers for local garri

•Buy from import wholesalers for imported brands

•Have limited access to credit supply

facilities

•Build strong bonds with farmers and fryers

•May extend advance payments to farmers on a case-by-case basis, or pre-finance production activities of farmers.

•Pay cash for stocks purchased, buy both garri and other cassava by-products

• Local institutions like especially; schools, Retailers, Urban wholesalers

Urban

Wholesalers

•Buy from local wholesalers/ assemblers and processed for local varieties

•Most operate in major towns like Mamfe, Kumba and, Limbe and Douala.

•Buy from import wholesalers for imported brands

•Have some access to credit supplies from both the importers and local wholesalers

•Operate on both formal and informal trade relationship

•Similar in many aspects to rural

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