Cooperative Development and Adjustment in Anglophone Africa: Proceedings of an International Conference

Abstract

Co-operatives have been playing a vital role in the development process of African countries. In many cases they had been instrumentalised by governments to control foreign exchange eaming agricultural commodities. At the same time they offered a rather stable framework for members providing them with a variety of services. With liberalisation in the wake of Structural Adjustment Policies (SAP) these conditions are drastically changing. Co-operative organisations are facing enormous challenges in the new competitive environment; on the other hand there Is increasing need for genuine co-operative action based on members' needs. The rapid changes provoke a continuous quest for reorientation and action at all levels of the co-operative movement. It is against this background that the Food and Agriculture Development Centre of the German Foundation for International Development (DSE-ZEL), in co-operation with the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) and the International Labour OfRce/DANIDA Programmes COOPNET and COOPREFORM has undertaken the task to organise a conference on "Co-operative Development and Adjustment in Anglophone Africa" which joined some 50 high-level participants from African co operative movements, government organisations, co-operative Human Resource Development institutions as well as representatives of international organisations and other experts. The conference took place in Diessen near Munich in June, 1996. It aimed at analysing current trends of SAPs, their impacts on co-operative organisations (with an emphasis on rural-based co-ops) and at elaborating strategies of how to cope with the mentioned challenges. It provided a forum for an open and self-critical exchange of experiences and networking. The present report compiles the papers which participants contributed to the conference as well as the results and recommendations elaborated in working group and plenary discussions. It contains a wealth of experiences and will hopefully contribute to facilitate the on-going process of reflection and reorientation which is taking place within and outside the co-operative movement in Africa. The yardstick for success of this process are the living conditions which poor men and women will be able to achieve by organising in co-operatives and other self-help organisations