Appendix 1: PCS and DFG
The reasons for setting up the new dairy farmer groups (DFG) are the following
1.
Co-operatives had inherited a bad name from the socialist period and gave feelings of antagonism amongst the farmers.
Co-operatives were started top-down, while the DFG are seen as an bottom-up initiative by the SDSP. But also the creation of the DFG happened on initiative of the SDSP so is not also this a top-down policy?
Bad management capacities of the PCS’s and the Union, TDCU.
Conflicting interests: it is believed that since the societies were responsible for the milk marketing it would lead to conflicting interests if they could also control the credit schemes. Another aspect of the conflicting interests theory is that TDCU is also a stockholder in the milk factory, Tanga Fresh,. The factory might have other interests than the farmers which could make TDCU a weak representative for the farmers.
Supposedly farmers advised against handing over the credit management to the TDCU, as the Union was already overburdened with milk marketing issues. This makes the choice to first create TADAT understandable so the Trust could take over the assets at first. But anyway why not strengthen the existing co-operatives, discuss with the farmers what are the existing problems and hand over the assets to the co-operatives in 2004 instead of putting a lot of time in creating new groups.
In conclusion, the new farmer groups were created since it was believed that the existing PCS’s are unable to fulfil the required tasks. It should be understood though that the PCS were performing the tasks of the current farmer groups before they were created. They were performing points 2,4, 5, 6 and 7 of the current tasks of the DFG (Table 11). Points 1 and 3 are irrelevant for them to perform since they were already formed, leaders had been chosen and an umbrella organisation had been created (TDCU).. Points 1 and 2 of the tasks of TADAT are activities linked to setting up the DFG’s. Points 3 until 8 were previously performed by the TDDP and now by TADAT.
1 Collected from interviews with several stakeholders (RDE, Arcadis, TADAT)
Table 11: Partition of tasks between TADAT and DFG
2What TADAT does for the DFG’s What the DFG’s do themselves 1. Advise them to get organised
2. Assist them to register (very little)
3. Help farmers to access extension services and training (e.g. field days)
4. Support and training extensionalists3, farm motivators and community animal health workers (CAHW)
5. Provide dairy animals on credit
6. Train aspiring farmers before they get animals (Basic Farmer Course)
7. Co-ordinate the provision of AI services 8. Monitor the credit scheme
1. Organise themselves and elect leaders
2. Send representatives to divisional bodies/unions 3. Develop constitutions and implement them e.g.
buy shares, pay entrance/annual subscriptions fees
4. Receive application letters from aspiring farmers
5. Screen the applications and select farmers for training
6. Inspect cow shed and pasture plots prepared by aspiring farmers
7. Recommend to TADAT which farmers should qualify to get credit animals
2 SDSP, 2002, Report of the mid term review mission, , p 14
3 At the moment, these 15 zonal extensionalists are sub-contracted by the Dutch government. The situation will change as soon as funding stops and they have to fully earn their salary by providing their services.
