The South West Region of Cameroon is known for its diverse agricultural practices. Most people in this region depend on agriculture for a living. Local indigenes have adopted diverse approaches to plant their crops. Many have individual farms that supply food for their families. Leftovers from individual farms are sold in the local markets. Others are organized in small associations. They plant crops, sell and share the profits among members of the associations. Very few have corporations which target the local transformation of farm produce into finished goods. Interestingly, there’re many advantages for those organized in associations as described below:

 

1- Unity Helps To Produce More Wealth

 

Strengths and ideas are multiplied when people come together. Listening to and learning from others help us see things differently and explore other opportunities. They help us consider diverse solution patterns that we might not have thought of before. One of the reasons why some communities never emerge is because they’re filled with individualists. When people are individualistic, their reasoning faculty is limited to their own sphere. They grow selfish, refuse to share and grow anxious about protecting only their little interests.

 

In the South West Region, many people are individualistic. They work their farms by themselves. Farming is hard and difficult especially when resources are lacking.  They’re only able to work as much as their strength permits. As a result, many of these communities aren’t producing enough wealth to satisfy the most basic needs. More wealth would be generated if most people decide to farm in associations rather than as individuals.

 

2- Associations And Corporations Produce Better Profit Margins At Less Cost

 

Everyone is born with gifts. Moreover, most people acquire at least one or more additional skills in life. An association of 5 people brings at least 10 gifts or talents together. Just think about it for a while. 5 people with ten talents come together to realize a project as opposed to 1 person realizing it on his/her own. That’s a huge difference. Associations help community members to combine their strengths. It is possible for members to join resources in order to acquire specialized machines to ease labour. An association or corporation can generate more products than an individual would at less cost. In the end, the profit margin increases providing excellent opportunities to invest in other areas.

 

3- Excellent Research And Development Opportunities

 

One very important thing created when people purposely come together is additional value. People who come together have an excellent chance to use their gifts and talents to explore further development opportunities without compromising current ideas that are already being implemented. They can explore opportunities to specialize in certain products. They can research and develop additional markets. They can generate, design and implement brand new solutions patterns to problems in their community. They can easily overcome resource constraints. In the South West Region, members of associations can research on available markets for the local transformation of farm produce such as cassava, coco-yams, yams, plantain, vegetables, etc.

 

Conclusion

 

It’s better to work in associations or corporations than as individuals. Groupwork provides excellent opportunities for research and development. It leads to the creation of additional value and wealth.

 

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