Aganang Youth Co-operative
Name of the Co-operative
Aganang is a Setswana name meaning “building each other”.
Date of Incorporation
The registration documents of the co-operative were submitted in November 2004 for registration with the Registrar of Co-operatives.
Economic Activity
Aganang Youth Co-operative is an agricultural co-operative with the following core business activities;
- Broiler Production
- Vegetable Production
- Pig farming
These seemingly separate activities are located in one area of about 2.5 hectares of land to ensure integration and efficiency in terms of planning and marketing of the co-operative’s products.
Organisational Form
The co-operative is organized as a worker co-operative, employing 18 young people (ages ranging from 26 years to 35 years), all of whom were previously unemployed. There are seven females and 11 males in the group, all of them from the village of Makapanstad. Members of the co-operative democratically elect a Board of Directors to manage its activities as well as to monitor policy implementation and compliance with legislation.
Area Served
The co-operative is located in a community adjacent to Hammanskraal Township, Moretele. It is not far from Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa.
The co-operative targets Hammanskraal township, the market area of the greater Pretoria area. The co-operative has further targeted the local abattoir, local hospitals and fresh market retailers.
Story of the co-operative
The co-operative was formed in 2001 by local unemployed youth, most of whom held secondary schooling qualifications; some had tertiary level qualifications, such as Diplomas in Agriculture (two people) and Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration (one person).
The technical skills possessed by this small group were important in the conceptualization of its business activities and the development of its business plan framework.
Aganang Youth Co-operative was founded on the need to create jobs for young people in the community of Makapanstad. From its inception, local community (notably the Tribal Authority), the local municipality, the provincial Department of Agriculture, and other youth organisations in the community have supported the co-operative.
After a series of meetings with the local Tribal Authority, the local Chief allocated the co-operative the 2.5 hectares of land on which it now operates.
Local agricultural extension officers, at the request of the chief, together with the youth leadership, took the business framework further and helped produce a business plan for the co-operative. This business plan was then submitted to the Umsobomvu Youth Fund for funding in 2002, and it was approved during the same year.
After the approval of the business plan, the entire co-operative membership was trained in several areas, namely:
- Horticulture
- Broiler Production
- Basic Business Management skills
- Marketing
- Pest Control
These training courses were provided through the collaboration of Umsobomvu Youth Fund and the Department of Labour (Skills Development Unit). Furthermore, the local municipality assisted the co-operative with site clearing by allocating a grader to de–bush the area where the co-operative was developed. The local office of the provincial Department of Agriculture continues to provide on-going support to the co-operative.
Vision/Purpose/Goals
- To establish a secure, affordable food supply chain for the villages of Kudube, Hammanskraal and Greater Pretoria townships through youth co-operatives;
- to employ members in the co-operative; and
- to provide employment opportunities for the broader community.
Mission Statement
To contribute to food security through a vibrant, sustainable and democratic youth co-operative that also creates jobs and fight poverty.
Aganang seeks to grow vegetables organically to ensure sustainable land use, which will result in life-long food security for our communities whilst empowering them to replicate the co-operative model in various economic activities.
Linkages to the community
The co-operative has the following links with the community:
- Makapanstad Tribal Authority
- Local Municipality – Local Economic Development Programme
- Department of Agriculture
Future plans
The co-operative plans to implement all its plans and effectively increase its market share in the Bakgatla broader community as well as Greater Pretoria. These plans apply to the short and medium-term goals. In the long-term, the co-operative also intends to increase its operations, within the next five years, by acquiring more land so that it can meet the potential increase in the market for fresh vegetables that will be grown.
Lessons Learned
Since the first inception meeting of the co-operative, the following lessons have been learned:
- The importance of working and creating close ties with the broader community.
- The value of involving all members of the co-operative in the decision-making processes.
- That the promotion and development of the co-operative should by all means be driven by their members with the necessary support from government;
- Support from other organisations should not translate into interference.
- The importance of separating roles in the co-operative: for instance, the role of the Board of Directors should be clearly defined from that of management.
The relationship between the co-operative and all the institutions and government departments should be characterized by respect for the co-operative principles and values. In most instances, where educational institutions were trying to support the co-operative, the approach has been similar to those adopted for conventional SMME (Small Medium and Micro Enterprises). This approach has tended to alienate co-operative members from their preferred values and principles and it has tended to divide the co-operative members. There is a need for more educational programmes that faithfully examine co-operative principles and values.
Umsobomvu is a Nguni word for "a rising dawn". The Umsobomvu Youth Fund (www.youthportal.org.za), created in 1998 with a fund of one billion Rand, exists to encourage youth employment, to help young people organize and secure the training to enter into the labour force. Unemployment is a major issue in South Africa, where 7.8 million of the 19 million young people are unemployed - and the numbers of unemployed grow by 400,000 a year. The Fund has helped many young people in South Africa to start new co-operatives.
