Number 6: Sustainable Development Part 2

Contents:

• INTRODUCTION
• AUTHORS
• TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN GHANA
• TOXIC WASTE DUMPING IN ZAMBIA
• SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND THE PRESS IN AFRICA
• THE ROLE OF AFRICAN NGOS IN AFRICA'S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
• RIOD: THE DESERTIFICATION NETWORK
• CAMPFIRE: ZIMBABWE'S TRADITION OF CARING
• "A HAPPY FAMILY:" THE GREEN ZONE COOPERATIVES
• SoS/E: WORKING TOWARDS FOOD SECURITY
• CLIMATE CHANGE: KENYA'S RESPONSES
• ECOTOURISM: SUICIDE OR DEVELOPMENT?
• THE POOR PARTNERS' ATTITUDES TO TECHNICAL COOPERATION IN AFRICA

"A HAPPY FAMILY:" THE GREEN ZONE COOPERATIVES

by Ruth Ansah Ayisi

Celina Cossa began to teach primary school in Mozambique during the Portuguese colonial period when she was only 15 years old, because according to the nuns at the school, "She was a little bit intelligent."

Her teaching career lasted only three years after the birth of her first child. It was then that Ms Cossa had the opportunity to return to what she enjoyed the most;farming. "My grandparents had taught me how to work the land to its best advantage."

Ms Cossa took advantage not only of her small plot of land, but also of an initiative to become part of an agricultural cooperative in the early 1980s. She was one of the first to join one of a cooperative in the suburban farmland that surrounds Mozambique's capital, Maputo.

This area of about 700 hectares, known as the Green Zones, was underutilised. When most of the Portuguese population left after independence in 1975, Mozambican farmers moved onto the land. But the land was not legally theirs and they lacked the knowledge and means to practice commercially viable agriculture.

In the past 15 years, though, there have been many changes in the Green Zones. Most of the farmers in the area are now members of the cooperatives and have legal tenure over their land. Many have undergone agricultural training, and most of their produce is marketed. Furthermore, their young children can go to a creche and the older ones can attend one of the subsidised schools, a major achievement in a country where over half the school-age children do not have a place in school. Some of the children have even gone on to further education at the cooperative's management college.

Only one of the 182 cooperatives is not headed by a woman. The cooperatives vary in size, but average around 50 members each. Each individual cooperative determines when and if new members are admitted. Since the average size of available plots is 3.3 hectares, in most cases more members would be uneconomical. Members pay themselves a regular salary, which can increase if profits permit. However, usually about 50% of their earnings is used to repay loans.

The Green Zones cooperatives are now the main supplier for Maputo's vegetable markets and they are the country's main producer of chickens.

Part of the success of the Green Zones cooperatives lies in their organisation into the General Union of Cooperatives (GUC) in 1983. Although the GUC was not meant to be a women's organisation, it has become a strong voice for women farmers, with women regularly holding most, if not all, the leadership positions.

The members of individual cooperatives relate to the GUC either directly or through local unions, which represent 10-15 cooperatives in their area. The GUC's major role is to market the produce grown by the cooperatives. As the cooperatives are about 20 kilometres outside the city and most members have no access to private transport, the GUC buys livestock and produce from the cooperatives for sale in the city. The GUC maintains its own cashier so that women are reimbursed immediately for their goods.

Another key role of the GUC is to supply basic farm implements and a range of other goods and services. The GUC has set up two storehouses which supply seeds, fertilizers, hoes, watering cans, hosepipes, construction materials, and diesel pumps. Because most cooperatives cannot afford the market price of basic equipment, the GUC buys farm implements in bulk at a discount, and then sells the items at cost price to the cooperatives.

In 1991, during a meeting of the GUC General Assembly, 145 of the 182 cooperatives opted for distribution of some property and means of production to individual cooperative members, while maintaining the cooperative structure. Land and low-cost farming tools have been distributed among individuals, but the more costly infrastructure items;such as the poultry units, vehicles and water pumps;remain collective property.

All individual cooperative members are automatically entitled to free membership to the GUC, which has about 5400 members, about 95% of which are women.

Today Ms Cossa is not only a mother of five children and grandmother of two, but also president of the GUC.

Elected in 1992 to this important position, she had unofficially held a leadership role since the GUC was born in 1983. "I have a lot of pride in what we have achieved over the years. It has sometimes been difficult and we have had to fight."

The major obstacle for most Mozambican farmers was the 16-year war between the government and the Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO), which claimed the lives of about one million people, forced another million to flee to neighbouring countries, and displaced four million inside Mozambique itself. Rich farmland was abandoned as people sought the relative safety of urban centres or nearby coasts.

Although the peace accord on 4 October 1992 ended the fighting, the war left its legacy of destruction. The country's already fragile economy was further crippled, reducing Mozambique to one of the world's poorest countries. Estimates of the cost of conflict for the 1980s alone are as high as US$15 billion.

Landmines also continue to threaten life and limb. About 20 people step on a landmine each month and most of them die because they are too far from medical assistance. Besides killing and maiming people, landmines cost the country agriculturally, as vast areas of land are left uncultivated for fear a mine may be present. While a national demining commission has been established, it will take up to 50 years to demine the country.

Peace has, however, given hope to Mozambicans. Christine Malecko, a 45-year-old divorcee and cooperative member, recalls her own fright. "During the war we suffered a lot," she said. "I was kidnapped with my brother and nephew three times, but we managed to flee each time. After that, we were unable to sleep inside our homes at night. At 3 p.m. I would have to leave my home, and at night sleep in the bush."

Ms Malecko suffers from severe poverty, which deepened when she began to live alone. "My husband suddenly left after 10 years of marriage because I could have no children," she said, tenderly cradling the toddler of another cooperative member. "Before he left, my husband built me a house and gave me a plot of land so I could survive on subsistence farming. But it was very difficult. Although I worked on my machamba (plot of land), I was growing only enough food to eat. I had to work on the machambas of others to earn enough money so that I could buy other basics, like soap and clothes."

The long working hours took their toll. Ms Malecko would start work on other people's farms at 4 a.m., before working on her own plot. Then she had a 45-minute walk to fetch water and another 45 minutes to trek home, balancing a full bucket on her head. "My health wasn't too good, because when your spirits are low it breaks down your health."

When Ms Malecko was invited to join a cooperative, she said, "I jumped at the opportunity." Today, Ms Malecko earns above the monthly minimum wage of 158,650 meticais, almost US$15;unlike 60% of Mozambique's 16 million people, who live in absolute poverty. The cooperative also gave her the opportunity to attend literacy classes. Ms Malecko had only completed the first grade of primary school, and could not read or write. She had to leave school when her parents died.

Education has been central to the Green Zones movement. Much of the inspiration for the Green Zones approach came from an Italian priest, Father Prosperino Gallipoli, who has worked with peasant farmers in Mozambique since the 1950s. His vision was to create an organisation that would empower people to take charge of their own lives. "People development," he dubbed it. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) paid him a modest salary from 1985 until the end of 1995, and he currently serves as a consultant manager to the GUC.

UNICEF and other donors have supported cooperative members to attend classes on improved agricultural techniques. The GUC has its own training centre, and arranges credit for the women.

The techniques are geared towards increasing production while protecting the environment. Members learn to apply chicken and pig manure as fertilizer, and to use pesticides moderately. They learn to diversify, producing mostly livestock and some vegetables. Even in 1991-1992, during Mozambique's worst drought for 70 years, the Green Zones cooperatives continued to produce. "We have always struggled along," said Ms Cossa. During that drought over half of Mozambique's population depended on foreign aid for survival.

An important event for Ms Cossa, and probably the Green Zones cooperatives was the establishment of the National Union of Farm Workers in 1993. Farmers from the Green Zones and from the rest of the country now have the opportunity to share their experience in workshops and exchange visits.

Some 25 participants, mostly men, came to the first seminar. "Now more women are coming. At first, women said, 'I'll ask my husband.' Now many don't talk about their husband's permission, they just say they'll come," said Ms Cossa.

She is quick to point out that most men now accept their wives' involvement in the Green Zones, because they see it as economically viable. "It was difficult for the men at first," she said. "But when you're strong economically, and when you're contributing to your family, that family has a good chance of being a happy one."