Attachments
Objective
The objective of this assessment is twofold: monitor the needs and capacities of cooperatives; and provide cooperatives with a framework to reflect on their own needs and capacities. This assessment stems from the assumption that self-evaluation is a key capacity building activity and it is meant to help in the establishment of self-managed and self-reliant group capacities. Developed in the late 80s by FAO consultant Prof. Norman Uphoff (Rural Development Committee, Cornell University), the methodology of this assessment provides a structured way for groups to consider a relevant set of questions and to arrive at a consensus on the group’s current situation. Reaching agreement within a group on what set of questions is relevant to it helps to educate and strengthen the group. Then, periodically discussing what are the best answers to these questions is even more educational and strengthening for the group. If the process of self-evaluation is carried out regularly and openly, with all group members participating, the answers they arrive at are in themselves not so important as what is learned from the discussion and from the process of reaching consensus on what questions should be used to evaluate group performance and capacity, and on what answers best describe their group’s present status.
Data collection
The participatory self-assessment was carried out in May 2023 during the implementation of the Agricultural Market and Value Addition Trade (AMVAT) project, funded by FAO and implemented by AVSI. The aim of the project is to establish nine viable cooperatives producing and marketing produce for 1,800 farmers for sorghum, maize and groundnuts, working around three Aggregation Business Centres in Juba County of Central Equatoria State, within eleven months (from October 2022 to August 2023. The total number of cooperatives assessed and supported throughout the project’s implementation is twelve.
Main findings
Cooperatives’ strong points relate to their capacity to operate and work as a group. The weakest points revolve around technical operation and management matters. In particular, the questions that received the lowest score are related to two difficult issues, that deserve scrutiny: the adoption of improved technology and the use of local materials.