COFEPROMER: The Success Story

As part of the of the World Fisheries Day Celebration organized by CAOPA and CNPAM in Agadir, Morocco this year and years past, it included a field trip. One of the places I visited was an organization called COFEPROMA - Cooperative feminine des produits de la mer de Douira. Formed on May 30, 2007, this cooperative has a lot of success thanks to it partners  being; GTZ, INDH, SEO/Birdlife, Association Douira pour le Development, MCC-USA, Unite Genre et Development and many others. There are currently twenty (22) active members operating this cooperative. These are all women of varied ages coming from different background but with one goal and ambition. Six out of the group form the executive board running the day to day activities.

REJOPRAO had the opportunity to interview Madam Fatima Atanane who is currently serving as the public relations officer for the cooperation. In an exclusive interview that she granted, she mentioned the main objectives of their organization.

Photo Credit: N. Darko

 

 

 

 

She mentioned them as follows:

1.  Support the sustainable management and exploitation of marine products has Douira, through the strengthening of technical and organizational capacities of adherents.
2. Promoting sustainable management of natural resources of the coast through the replacement of firewood by the gas in the process of treatment and recovery of marine products, the tracking study of the state of the biomass and the awareness mussel pickers. 
3. Value to the products of the sea through the construction and equipment of a fresh mussel recovery unit and dried, the elaboration of a quality manual and processes sheets and promoting cooperative and its products. 

After introducing us to the President of the cooperative, she became our tour guide taking us through the distinctive steps that the raw material go through before we get our final packaged product. "In all we do here, hygiene is paramount" she said. 

Telling us about the processing she also mentioned that routing of the freshly harvested mussels is considered to in order to minimize its contamination. When received at the unit, it is first weighed and refrigerated at temperatures between 2 and 6 degrees Celsius. When enough volume has been acquired it is then retrieved washed and graded. There after grits attached are removed and baked at 100 degrees Celsius in special pans (these have in them sieves that makes it easy for separation) for easy removal of the husk - this is done using simple tools like knife on a working board. It is then soaked in a container filled with water as a pre-drying process. The mussels are dried naturally at the roof of the unit for a maximum of 72 hours depending on the prevailing weather conditions after which they are sent for the last stage which is the vacuum packaging. This takes out all the air trapped in the packaging polythene bag (this helps in the improvement of shelf life -it takes over 6 months before expiration). Now the packs are sent back to another cooling chamber for storage and ready for distribution.

Photo Credit: N. Darko

Photo Credit: N. Darko

The cooperative since its inception in 2007 has won three awards for the good work they are doing in their community. Women involve now have their livelihood improved. The job created bring back some income they use in supporting their families. One admitted she has never regretted being part of the cooperative. The total revenue generated from the sale is saved at the bank and used in the purchase of materials, tools and equipment in case some breakdown or get worn out. Some amount is set aside and made available to the members for credit anytime they need financial assistance.

Since the processing unit is quite a distance away from the market areas, we were curious to know how they distribute the finished product so we asked Madam Fatima. Her response; "Some of the products are bought by visitors, others also place orders and they are supplied and we have a TOYOTA pick-up with refrigeration system that is also used sometime to market our products". 

The cooperative is independent and making good progress. They operate on their own and currently training more and more women to be part of the cooperative. Again a highlight of why our women are so invaluable when it comes to this fishing value chain. Their role in the development our economies in Africa and the world at large is paramount. Like I always say lets encourage all to be part of this particularly our youth. COFEPROMA is a success, others too can make it. Encouragement and self-motivation the key.


Written by: Nana Darko 

WOMEN: Role-players in artisanal fisheries

Women waiting patiently at the shore for the catch

I love fish ... Do you? Am moved to share with you an interesting role played by women in the artisanal fisheries sector in Ghana, West Africa, Africa and the world as a whole. Well motivated after REJOPRAO's (Network of Journalists for Responsible and Sustainable Fisheries in West Africa) General Assembly and their participation in CAOPA's (African Confederation of Professional Artisanal Fishing Organisations) seminar both organised in Saly-Portudal, Senegal - not a day passes without talking about women in this sector. 

Women in the thick of affairs; Offloading catch from canoes

Admittedly, this area of agriculture is very technical making it very difficult for some well acclaimed journalists to report and educate the general public. The problems and constraints in the sector has also been overlooked. As a devout member of this network (REJOPRAO), I cannot hold anything back. I am through this piece asking that the most active and vibrant members of the artisanal fisheries value chain are applauded and hailed - Our WOMEN. The pictures says it all.

Women: valuation, pricing and purchasing time

The Women really deserve to be celebrated (The World Women's Day). Guinea Bissau the venue for this year's celebration is christened; ''Equity for women is progress for all''. Personally this theme is fitting and very thought provoking. Considering this sector, I would like to discuss only one of the many challenges - financing. There are many financial institutions operating in various countries but how will you rate their support to the women in this area? Equity does not seem to exist in their dictionary. Financial facility are extended to more men than women. They are sidelined because of their inability to provide collaterals. These are very important variable in the value chain. 

Preparing the fish for processing

During the seminar, presentations from WARI and Bank of Africa (BoA) sounded so promising. BoA, Senegal has a fund already signed to support women co-operatives in Senegal we look forward that other financial institutions will emulate this and extend to our women the necessary support so their livelihoods and that of their families are improved. WARI can also make the transaction of their businesses very simple and smooth. 

Woman happily smoking fish

Marketing of the processed fish

Grandmothers, mothers, sisters, wives, daughters... we love you all and cherish your contribution.

By Nana Darko, Ghana