21 Jan 2019
CAYAT: the power of a committed membership
An interview with the Ivorian cooperative's director general.
Image courtesy of CAYAT.
Fairtrade certified cocoa cooperative CAYAT is based in Côte d’Ivoire. Established in 2010 by 283 founding members, its objective is to facilitate the collection and sale of cocoa and coffee and contribute to the welfare of the farmers and their families. It has expanded quickly and now has a membership of over 3000 farmers.
Mrs. Awa Bamba, Director General of CAYAT, explains how the cooperative has been able to grow its membership base so fast while keeping it informed and engaged. She also talks about their priorities for investing the Fairtrade Premium and the challenges faced by the cooperative.
Q: In your view, what are the reasons why the number of CAYAT members has increased so rapidly?
Awa Bamba (AB): We saw a rapid growth from 2012 onwards when we gained Fairtrade certification and started receiving Fairtrade Premium funds. With the Premium, the cooperative has been able to strengthen its organizational, technical and logistical capacities. Besides that, I believe the cooperative has been able to gain the loyalty of its members by providing good remuneration for their produce, good governance, transparent use of the Premium and a strong commitment towards sustainable development. I believe these are the basis for the growth of our membership.
Q: What are you doing to maintain the commitment of your members and to continuously inform them of their rights and responsibilities?
AB: We have a very transparent governance structure and very transparent internal communication. We hold regular meetings with members to keep them informed about the latest developments and we organize trainings for them on the principles of the cooperative.
Q: You have also set up a radio station. What are the main themes being broadcasted?
AB: CAYAT Radio was set up with funds from the Fairtrade Premium and has since been an important vehicle to facilitate communication with members and promote cohesion among them. The motto of the radio station is “get closer to the producers to develop better” and its aim is to be the “voice of the producer”. Some of the themes that are covered in the programmes include:
- Information about the risks of using chemical pesticides and information about alternative organic fertilizers;
- Disseminating information about economic programmes focused on local potential that could contribute to the improvement of the communities’ income by diversifying activities in agriculture, trade or crafts;
- Raising awareness about looking after the environment by avoiding bush fires and protecting fresh water sources and rivers;
- Disseminating information about cultural, educational and artistic activities at local level;
- Promoting women's empowerment in rural areas;
- Raising awareness about protecting children’s rights;
- Disseminating information about the training and awareness modules that the cooperative and its partners formulate for producers aimed at improving their productivity and the quality of their produce.
Besides all this, CAYAT Radio is also a pedagogical support tool. It broadcasts a radio literacy programme for people who are unable to read or write and it offers its programmes in local languages.
Image courtesy of CAYAT.
Q: In addition to the radio station, what do you think are the most important Fairtrade projects that CAYAT members have approved?
AB: There are many and they are very diverse but I would highlight the following:
- Kindergarten rehabilitation project
- Establishing a poultry farm
- Installing a village hydraulic pump
- Installing solar panels
- Building a hardware store
- Building a spare parts store
- Building a chicken egg storage and marketing store
Many of these projects are contributing to income diversification for members. That is one of our cooperative’s key strategies to promote sustainable development.
Q: What are the goals that CAYAT members and management want to achieve in the next three years?
AB: We have ambitious goals. Most importantly, we want to improve the productivity of our members – both from a qualitative and a quantitative perspective. Concretely, we have set a goal of 10 percent growth in our financial turnover per year and 10 percent growth in overall production per year. We want to be able to distribute more revenue to our members and ensure that they enjoy measurable economic and social benefits. Finally, we also want to enhance the protection of the environment in our communities.
Q: What are the main difficulties that CAYAT and its members encounter?
AB: Certainly the main challenge relates to the international price fluctuations for coffee and cocoa. The other one is the difficulty in accessing funding to invest into community development projects. Both hinder our capacity to further promote the economic development of our communities.