Chapter 16. Enhancing cassava marketing and processing in Cameroon 523
Box 1. Processor women group FEDDMA (around the Mbouda market)Processing fresh cassava tubers is an activity that is carried out by a group of around ten women located
at the Mbouda market in the Mbamboutos district where the bulk of produced cassava is marketed
(not self-consumed). Those women process cassava cossettes to produce cassava flour. Raw cassava is
purchased on the market or in neighboring localities, and then processed and marketed on the spot.
There are several bottlenecks for sourcing cossettes (high local demand, inconsistent supplies, storage
losses) and several marketing risks (bad sales, lack of organization, horizontal coordination failures).
Interesting opportunities stem from the presence of exporters and the existence of several potentially
high income marketing outlets.When working on an individual basis, each woman faces constraints arising from limited individual
working capital and equipment for processing and marketing. Hence, the FEDDMA GIC was established
by the PNDRT in 2005 so as to remedy those problems and overcome those constraints through collective
action for both processing and marketing activities, and by pooling the financial means of each woman
(addressing the issue of limited working capital). Now each woman pays annual fees amounting to
25,000 CFAF and puts 400,000 CFAF in the common working capital of the group, in addition to a
monthly participation of 50,000 CFAF in the group’s ROSCA. This scaled up working capital enables
substantial investments and better sourcing, with significant marketing income, once organizational,
processing, and management capacities were strengthened and upgraded under specific PNDRT
supporting and training activities. Several facilities were provided to the GIC such as a warehouse (12 X 8
m) which can hold 30 tons of cossettes (representing 250 bags of 120 kg each), two trolleys, one scales
(2 tons capacity), and grinders. Regarding marketing, the GIC handles this on its own, but marketing
outlets are still restricted. PNDRT planned to support the group through proximity support organization
(OAP) and workshops in order to train its members in market negotiation developing their business.Marketing and processing cossettes is by now a regular activity which takes place over 9 months from
from November to August. Since 2010, GIC has attempted product diversification by starting fufu
production (waterfufu). Gross annual income of the group has undergone a dramatic increase from 22
million CFAF up to 60 million CFAF and the GIC has achieved a net profit of 5.5 million CFAF in 2010.Establishment of the GIC enabled substantial efficiency gains and allowed each processor to better satisfy
her clientele, ensure consistent supplies, and source new income enhancing markets and customers.
Such experience shows how additional profits can be generated thanks to critical mass building and how
GICs can perform well in terms of small scale processing and marketing.