Co-operators demand the reopening of cooperative banks to save farmers

The Uganda Cooperative Alliance (UCA) has kicked off country-wide campaigns to engage cooperative leaders in Uganda to raise money to revive the cooperative bank. Cooperative Bank was established in the early 1960s as a main source of credit facilities for farmers in Uganda before its closure in May 1999 with 23 branches countrywide. Ivan Asiimwe, the general secretary for the Uganda Cooperative Alliance says currently they are holding regional meetings to get advice from cooperators and lobby funds to reopen the bank that will be named National Cooperation Bank. He noted that as much as the country has several banking and microfinance institutions, access to affordable loans remains a challenge for smallholder farmers. ‘’ We have strong cooperative which have the capacity to establish […]