The Bolgatanga, Bawku, and Navrongo Rice Parboilers Cooperative (BBN Cooperative) successfully held its 2024 general assembly on October 24 at the Catholic Social Center in Bolgatanga. The meeting featured key reports from the cooperative’s leadership, including the president, who reviewed the previous year’s activities and highlighted significant developments and progress within the organization.
Reports from the manager and sales manager provided insights into operations and performance, culminating in the presentation of the new budget. The assembly also recognized outstanding contributions by awarding four women from Bolgatanga who produced the highest quantities of rice bags over the year.
“The cooperative aimed to parboil 4,000 bags, which would translate to approximately 9,000 bags of 25 kg, along with an additional 2,000 bags of straight or perfumed rice, estimated at about 5,000 bags of 25 kg. By the end of our production season, we managed to produce 3,339 out of the target 4,000 bags of parboiled rice and 701 out of the estimated 2,000 bags of straight milled or perfumed rice. Although we did not reach the full target, this represents a tremendous improvement in performance from previous years. Notably, for the first time in our production history, we sold all the rice produced this year, including carryovers from the previous production year,” said Gilberta Akuka, Board President.
Speaking to the media, Samuel Osae, the Bolgatanga Municipal Director of Cooperatives noted that the BBN Cooperative has demonstrated notable progress, even with reduced financial support this year compared to the previous year. According to him, his office conducts annual audits to ensure transparency and fair distribution among members, underscoring that last year, the cooperative benefited from over 4 million Ghana cedis in support, which significantly contributed to a profit exceeding 2 million Cedis. Although the support diminished this year to about 1 million Ghana Cedis, the cooperative still achieved a profit of over 1 million cedis, indicating strong market demand for their products.
“Last year when we audited, we saw that a whole support of over 4 million was given to the group and it made them have a profit of over 2 million. But this year, what I am seeing is that their support reduced because they ended their project last year.” “They partially helped the group this year halfway with a support of about 1 million but the group was still able to make a profit of over 1 million which is a great progress they achieved.”
Mr. Osae expressed optimism for the future, stating that next year’s performance will reveal the full impact of the cooperative’s operations without external support. “It is next year that we are going to see the full impact of the group without the support of SOCODEVI,” he added.
While the cooperative is not currently involved in rice production, Mr. Osae highlighted the need for younger members, emphasizing rice parboiling as a viable business opportunity for youth. “Most of the women here are older, so we want to open membership to attract more people, especially the youth,” he said.
He also called for further assistance from NGOs to help the cooperative enhance its capabilities and increase production. “The union is well-positioned for partnerships and is a profitable venture. We urge NGOs, following SOCODEVI’s departure, to come forward and support these women in scaling up production,” he concluded.
Source: A1Radioonline.com | 101.1MHz | Gifty Eyram Kudiabor | Bolgatanga
