Farmers will soon have a market where to sell their respective crop productivity after a tripartite agreement to tackle market crisis was signed.
The tripartite agreement was reached between a confederation of farmers’ cooperative in Kamonyi district, SOSOMA Industry and CPF INEZA microfinance as officials pened a five-year Memorundum of Understanding to support farmers.
Speaking during the MoU signing ceremony on June 28, 2022, Emmanuel Ntamukunzi, president of IMPUYABO confederation said that the agreement will help them sell their produce after many years members of the confederation struggled to get the market, often counting losses.
The agreement was presided by the National Cooperatives Confederation of Rwanda (NCCR).
“This MoU is very important for us and is long overdue, we used to struggle to find clients of our agricultural produce. CPF INEZA as a microfinance will help us to give loans to farmers, and they will be able to practice timely agricultural activities and get markets for their produce,” Ntamukunzi said.
Jean Pierre Musafiri, the Director General of SOSOMA Industry said that this agreement will benefit all the parties.
“The agreement helps us to get quality produce without depending on farmers. It also helps a cooperative because they do not struggle to find markets for their yield. They plant their crops knowing that there is a market for the produce, and when they have financial crisis, they can approach SOSOMA Industry to get the advance on their payment,” he said,
Yvonne Mutakwasuku, Director General of CPF INEZA Microfinance, said that the MoU will ensure good collaboration.
“SOSOMA Industry will buy farmers’ produce and the payment will be done through their cooperative’s bank account within our microfinance. On one side, we give task to each other as well as a trust,” she said.
“A farmer will not have a delay due to lack of finance, we get clients to give them loans and farmers get clients for their produce” she added.
The shared benefits
Thacienne Mutezinka, the president of the National Cooperatives Confederation of Rwanda (NCCR) said that the agreement has will boost best agricultural practices.
“The banks give money to the farmer to ensure that he/she will pay back without difficulties, because there is a client. SOSOMA Industry is there as a potential client for farmers. The bank also has no worries that its money will be lost,” Mutezinka said.
Thacienne Mutezinka, the president of the National Cooperatives Confederation of Rwanda (NCCR)
The NCCR has more than 10,000 cooperatives with almost five million (5,000,000) members. Some of its responsibilities are to look after the benefits of the cooperatives, to follow up their activities, to tackle disputes among the cooperatives and to link them with markets.
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