Brief History of NWCA

The organization was formed in 1950 with a single Cooperative Society.  The number increased in 1953 to five and was called the Bamenda Provincial Cooperative Produce Marketing Union. It continued evolving until 1978 when the North West Cooperative Association Limited was formed with eleven Affiliated Unions involving over thirty five-thousand farmers producing mainly coffee among other crops for export. After the restructuring of the Organization in 2005, the structure now has 7 Unions and 43 primary Societies and the main activity remains the collection, processing and marketing of coffee and cocoa. NWCA Ltd recently complied with the requirements of OHADA by revising its bye – laws and that of its tiers. Its new registration number is NW/FCOOPCA/010/13/102 of 23.08.2014.

NWCA Ltd was under the control of the Government until 1992 when it obtained full autonomy under the liberalization process. NWCA has over 20 years experience in coffee exportation. Historically, NWCA Ltd was used to producing 11,000 tons of Arabica annually. However with the fall of commodities prices in the eighties and with the subsequent fall of the national coffee sinking fund; production in the area has dropped considerably. Today NWCA has a capacity of 5,000 tons of Arabica and 1,000 tons of Robusta coffee. We estimate that in 2 years time we will record a two digits yearly growth rate in coffee production and a significant diversification into other activities based on the renewed interest with support from the authorities on the one hand and the push through the present strategic development plan. Production is on an average farm size of about 1 hectare managed by families each of which averages about 7 people. We expect that average farm sizes will doubled with the introduction of women owned farms and the introduction of NWCA farms. The coffee and cocoa production is carried out on the rich and fertile soils of the Volcanic Mountains (1,200 – 2,200 m above sea level) of the North West Region of Cameroon, which is generally favoured by good climatic conditions of the Region.  

The motto of the Organization is EACH FOR ALL AND ALL FOR EACH. Each tier of the entire structure is voluntarily and democratically created on the basis of a common economic and business interest. Members admitted believe in the cooperative spirit and are willing to work with others to further the common economic interests of members.

The North West Cooperative Association Ltd  is a peasant farmer-organization comprising over 35,000 members situated all over the North West Region in Cameroon. They produce Java Arabica and Robusta coffee grown on rich volcanic soils with little use of chemicals at altitudes which range between 1200-2200 meters above sea level.  NWCA Ltd also produces cocoa in lower attitudes that has of recent noticed a remarkable increase in production and demand.

The main activity of NWCA Ltd is the Production, Collection, Processing (Hulling) and Marketing of Members’ Produce to both local and international markets at the best possible prices. About 85% of NWCA Ltd Coffee is sold to the international market (with buyers mainly from Europe) and 15% is sold locally. The North West Cooperative Association (NWCA) Ltd. with registration Nº NW/FC/01/94 of 14/2/94 is governed by Law, Nº 92/006 of 14/8/92 and Prime Ministerial Decree Nº92/455/PM of 23/11/92 is the apex body that coordinates and supervises the activities of 7 Unions and 43 Cooperative Produce Marketing Societies (CPMS) in the Region.

NWCA Ltd has been participating in the world market as a reliable exporter of washed Arabica and Robusta coffee for the past Nineteen years. NWCA exports its coffee and competes with other coffee producers from Africa, Latin America and beyond such as Tanzania, Kenya, Columbia and Brazil.