Regional Reports - the European External Action Service

disadvantaged groups, gender, child development, HIV/AIDS prevention and control, as
well as activities aimed at awareness, capacity building and the empowerment of
communities.
• Next to NGOs, cooperatives are the NSA with nearly one million members organized into
2690 basic cooperatives and 29 unions that undertake numerous business activities in
various sectors. There are about 3100 youth associations which are also part of the basic
cooperative organizations. Apart from the services provided to members, the cooperatives
and their unions have also created employment opportunities for over 22,000 people. The
SNNPR cooperative development is remarkable and full of dynamism in its growth trends
and enhanced role as one of the important players in production, marketing and service
provision for their members. The formation of cooperative federation in February this year
is a good indicator of the dynamism inherent in the cooperative development of the region.
• Currently, the region’s cooperative unions undertake major businesses and service
provision activities that include production, credit and saving, and marketing service that
include imports of inputs and the exports of farm products to the international market.
Thus, as a result of farmers empowerment and bargaining power, the tasks of importation,
distribution and supply of input especially fertilizers which were once the sole businesses
of parastatal enterprises, private firms and party affiliated companies are now fully under
the control of the cooperative unions.
• Cooperatives play major role in product marketing linking the producers with the
international market and contribute significantly to an increase in foreign exchange
earnings of the country. They also provide producer price guarantee against product price
fall through contract sales arrangements that ensure minimum price for members who
deliver export products. Through such an arrangement, the unions were able to increase the
volume of haricot beans export to 10,000 quintals during 2007. Apart from the economic
advantage accruing from the direct supply of exportable commodities like coffee,
cooperatives have also managed to get significant cost reduction for the importation of
inputs. For example, in comparison with the fertilizer price of companies that were main
importers of fertilizer, the reduction in the import cost of fertilizer during the previous year
was as high as 100 birr per quintal.
• The relationship between the Government and NSA sector in the SNNPR is currently in
good condition and this is attributable to the existence of a more enabling operational
environment. In order to create a more enabling environment, GO – NGO forum has been
formed to facilitate consultation and cooperation of regional government, sector bureaus
and the NGOs operational in SNNPR. Since its formation, series of joint meetings have
been conducted and issues that could have relevancy in improving the operational have
been addressed and discussed.
• An important outcome of the GO – NGO forum is the preparation of NGO guideline in
which NGOs also participated. The outstanding points and issues contained under in the
guideline and its articles have been raised during the forum meetings and thoroughly
discussed and debated upon to reach consensus. Among the issues or articles that were
revised and amended are NGO project over head cost, the delegation of woreda authority to
sign project agreements up to 2 million Birr and also the relation between NGO and sector
office, roles and responsibilities with regard to the coordination, cooperation in project
implementation and monitoring activities. As a result, the draft guideline has been revised
and amended to incorporate the comments, inputs and feedback from the NGOs. Thus, the
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