Assessment of Cooperatives in the Poultry Industry - 2013.pdf - Seda

Research Report: Addressing the Needs, Opportunities and Challenges of Cooperatives
and Collectively Owned Enterprises in the Poultry and Related Industries
Service providers are appointed to assist with the provision of training, as well as certain other forms
of support. Different forms of support are provided depending on the size of the cooperative. For
example, assistance with inputs is only provided to large-scale cooperatives.
In certain cases a service provider provides mentorship to the cooperatives for a period of six
months to a year. SEDA noted that despite this support, cooperatives in many cases fail to succeed.
However, if there is no mentorship whatsoever, the chances of failure are higher.
Monitoring is provided by SEDA itself. Monitoring is required several times annually and is done
when the employee in charge of the area is able to visit and assess. Managers were previously
divided per sector; however, this has changed. Managers now operate regionally in order to ensure
improved access to and monitoring of projects.
5.2. Recommended Interventions
The recommended interventions for improving support to poultry cooperatives touch on six broad
categories of constraint or intervention, namely:
the lack of equipment faced by many cooperatives
the low levels of skill and the scope for training
the barriers to entry in gaining market access
the struggle faced by cooperatives in being competitive in the market
the possibilities for enhanced communication and information dissemination
the possible paths of development for egg and broiler cooperatives separately.
5.2.1.
Addressing Deficiencies in Skills Development Support
The analysis in Section 4 indicated that cooperatives require additional training in a number of areas.
Skill levels are shown to be low in financial, managerial and technical skills. Some of these may also
stem from low levels of basic education amongst cooperative members.
In addition to low skill levels, cooperatives struggle with accountability, leadership and management.
Industry experts highlighted the concern that a lack of leadership exists within cooperatives. This
often results in poor or no planning, as no single member is accountable and ready to take on the
challenges of long-term planning.
Recommendations to deal with skills and leadership include:
Develop a comprehensive support approach:
In order to address the problems of skill and leadership, it is important that a comprehensive
support approach be internally formulated, to ensure that all cooperatives are taken
through a best-practice development path. It is, therefore, recommended that SEDA
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