| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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- The initiative was a new process to deliver promotion service that was more flexible and align with cooperatives’ needs and constraints so that it was more effective to solve NYSAC’s operational problems. It was innovative in 3 aspects – design, implementation, and monitoring. In term of design, it was participatory as both sides of public service delivery – CPD official and NYSAC including its BoD, manager, and members – were actively engaged in developing plan to solve NYSAC’s problems as opposed to CPD’s former promotion service process that was top down and policy driven so only stronger cooperatives could carry out successfully. The implementation of the initiative was practical. It took into account the cooperative’s needs and constraints so every project was designed to facilitate the cooperative and its members’ adoption and realization. In addition, it was. Another element making the implementation of the initiative successful was the responsive monitoring process. The plan was adopted to implement in the NYSAC and CPD officials adapted it as a promotion service plan so consultation, supports, and resources were prepared and provided in line with NYSAC’s needs and timeline. In case any deviation from the plan, corrective action was taken immediately.
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| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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- CPD’s officials and NYSAC’s management were main implementing agencies. From the strategic plan designed based on members’ problems and limitations reflected from the discussions and brainstorming sessions, strategic plan to solve the NYSAC’s members’ debt problems. Implemented 3 strategies with 5 projects aiming at improving members’ ability to pay back debts so they could relieve themselves from heavy debt burden by reducing expenses and increasing incomes, retaining members’ income generating asset-land so they could continue their agricultural production to earn incomes, and lastly, building trust in NYSAC so to increase members’ participation and cooperation.
- In the implementation of theses 3 strategies, NYSAC’s management together with CPD officials arranged training courses on making household necessities such as soap, dish soap, shampoo, etc. from used for members so they could reduce expenses and earn more extra incomes. NYSAC and CPD officials also negotiated with the loan sharks to reduce and transfer members’ debts back to the coop and reset payment terms which were more applicable and fair for members.
- In addition, the NYSAC’s management and CPD officials also frequently visited members to follow up and provide consultation to members.
- The implementation of the initiative affected around 45,000 farmers from 6 sub-districts in Nong Ya Sai district who were similarly affected by bad agricultural production, low incomes, and debts.
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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- To solve NYSAC and its members’ problems, 5 projects under 3 strategies were implemented:
Strategy 1 – Improve NYSAC’s members’ Ability to Pay back Their Loans
- The 3 projects were implemented: 1) Savings towards Loan Payments, 2) Stop Debt Growth, and 3) Funds for Friends:
o Project 1 - Savings towards Loan Payments involved helping NYSAC’s members to reduce expenses, increase incomes and keep track of earnings and spending, and regularly saving for debt payment. Reducing expenses – production and household expenses – in term of production cost reduction, CPD official in cooperation with NYSAC arranged a training course to teach NYSAC’s members to make organic compost from left overs and to use organic matters to improve soil fertility so they could reduce chemical fertilizer use and cost. As for household expense reduction and income increase, we hold a training session on making household daily necessities such as soap, dish soap, shampoo, etc. that they could use and also sell to earn extra incomes. Another important activity was to help them keep track of their finances. CPD and NYSAC coordinated with Cooperative Audit Department to arrange a training course and consultation sessions on home bookkeeping so the members can understand the pattern of their expenses and incomes including their production costs so they can cut unnecessary costs. And the last activity in this project was to build and facilitate their saving habits so they incrementally accumulated money towards debt payment. Tactic used in this case was an on-site deposit system where, during a consultation visit, NYSAC or CPD official would collect the deposit from members, record it, and deliver it to NYSAC office. Through these 3 projects, members were able to save more money and improved on their debt payments.
o Project 2 – Stop Debt Growth –to help members with long overdue debts to be able to relieve themselves from exponentially growing heavy debts while being able to use their land to generate incomes. NYSAC allowed its members to use their land to pay for debts and lend it to them at low cost (estimated 1/3 of market rate). Members could buy back their land in installments within 5 years. This project helped solve long overdue debts and relieved NYSAC’s members from heavy debts.
o Project 3 – Funds for Friends - to increase liquidity for debt payment in case members unable to meet the specific due dates. An emergency fund was established from one-baht saving scheme where every member save one baht per day towards this fund so it could be used to advance for debt payment for members who were in shortage.
Strategy 2 – Help members to Retain Their Land
- Member farmers who took high interest loan from loan sharks using their land as collateral were risk losing the land because they were unable to pay back the loan. This strategy solve the problem by transferring members’ debts from loan sharks to NYSAC and reset a fair payment terms with members.
Strategy 3 – Build Members’ Trust in the Cooperative
- To improve NYSAC’s personnel ethic and establish members’ confidence in the coop therefore improve members’ participation and commitment by promoting moral and ethics in NYSAC’s personnel such as integrity through Moral and Ethics Bank Project.
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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- CPD’s officials, NYSAC’s management, and its members were actively involved in the design and implementation of the initiative. In the design process, CPD officials arranged and facilitated the discussions and brainstorming of members and the coop’s managements so that members’ financial problems and limitations were reflected to NYSAC and CPD, then strategic plan was prepared incorporating those factors. During the implementation process, CPD and NYSAC’s management were implementing forces with cooperation from members. Trainings and consultations necessary for the capacity building of members so they could incomes, reduce expenses, and improve financial stability were provided by CPD and NYSAC.
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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The PPS system achieved in solving NYSAC’s long standing problems and helped its members to improve their financial health significantly. The initiative’s role in advancing the SDGDs was its achievement in relieving poverty and improving women role in household decision making.
1) Relieving farmers from excessive debts. NYSAC’s member farmers could pay back their long-overdue debts with numbers of facilitating projects such as stopping debt growth, reducing expenses, improving incomes, and fund for emergency needs for debt payment. After the initiative, farmers’ ability to pay back debts was improved as they could meet their dues better indicated by improvement in NYSAC’s on-time debt pay back rate from 48% to 95.52%. Farmers could relieved themselves from super-high interest debts from loan sharks
2) Retaining farmers’ lands. Farmers who risked losing their land ownerships to loan sharks was able to retain their land through debt transfer process where NYSAC negotiated to buy member farmers’ debts from loan sharks and also reset a payment term that was more applicable and feasible for the members so they could pay back loans and save the land.
3) Increasing farmers’ incomes and disposable incomes. By training and encouraging them to keep track of their incomes and expenses with home bookkeeping, enabling women to take part more actively in households’ financial decision, making household products from recycled to reduce expenses and extra incomes.
4) Increasing farmers’ savings. When the farmers could relieve from excessive debts, reduce expenses, and increase incomes, so they could increase their disposal incomes which reflected from their improve ability in loan repayment, 173% increased savings and 142% increased share capital.
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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- Members had low incomes so they found some difficulties to maintain regular savings. Activities to help them increase incomes and reduce expenses were implemented along with an on-site deposit system to facilitate and encourage regular savings.
- Income improving project faced with some difficulties such as lack of water supply for vegetables grown after rice season and lack of market channel for them. To solve water supply problem, CPD official advised farmers to dig up artesian well for use during dry season and also advised NYSAC to open some spaces at the coop office for use as a farmer market. CPD also helped with the PR of the market.
- In the process to transfer members’ debts from loan sharks to NYSAC, we encountered some obstacles. For example, the loan sharks refused to come to meeting with the coop for the negotiation so CPD officials and NYSAC’s manager together with members tried to arrange a meeting at their places and tried to negotiate for debt reduction as much as possible for the benefit of members.
- Home bookkeeping was not maintained because members and coop’s personnel assuming it had no benefit excusing their lack of time. CPD official and NYSAC’s management took any occasion available – monthly BoD meeting, weekly consultation visit, etc. – to explain its purposes and benefits, and suggested them to update the book before going to bed every night and even encouraged them to keep a small notebook at hand for record keeping.
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