78th ICA International Co-operative Day
6th UN International Day of Cooperatives
"Cooperatives and Employment Promotion"
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Governments, in cooperation with the private sector and non-governmental organizations, will:
(Commitment Three, Objective 3.5)
FAO and Cooperatives |
FAO-ICA Collaboration | ||
| Addressing the NGO Forum for the World Food Summit in November 1996, the Director General of FAO stressed that today "everyone recognizes that governments alone cannot solve the problem of food security and if we are to make any progress we need the energy and expertise that reside in civil society." In FAO´s view, as a generic term, "civil society organization" embraces a vast, heterogeneous and multifaceted "set of relational networks", and includes trade unions, self-help associations, cooperatives, women´s groups, development and advocacy NGOs, and informal groups alike. However, given this great heterogeneity, priorities have to be set and FAO thus pays special attention to membership-based, representative self-help organizations of farmers, fisherfolk and foresters, in particular their genuine cooperatives. These cooperatives, in spite of many failures and shortcomings, are traditional organizations of mainly the poorer segments of society which have the potential to play an important role in developing a strong "social capital" in rural areas that is regarded as a pre-requisite for food security and sustainable development. Converting these concepts into activities and outputs, FAO focuses its cooperative assistance programmes on three technical areas:
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After a meeting between Mr. Jacques Diouf, Director-General of FAO and the President of the International Co-operative Alliance, Mr. Roberto Rodrigues, a Memorandum of Understanding was been prepared to ensure cooperation between FAO and ICA by consultation, exchange of information and coordination of efforts in fields of common interest, in accordance with the objectives and principles of FAO and ICA, with particular reference to the promotion of cooperative principles and methods in the areas of food, agriculture, fisheries and forestry, and related areas. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Director-General of FAO and the President of ICA on the occasion of the FAO Conference in November 1999.
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Agricultural Cooperative Development: A Manual for Trainers |
Globalization, trade liberalization, deregulation and changes in political and economic paradigms have led to major changes in the political, social and economic environments within which agricultural cooperatives operate. The decline of government assistance and growing competition from the private sector are now forcing cooperatives to re-assess their performance and seek ways and means to improve their business efficiency in providing better member services
In the framework of its cooperative training of trainers programme aimed at helping developing countries and countries in transition transform their agricultural cooperatives into genuine self-help organizations, FAO has published in English an innovative manual geared to encouraging greater membership participation, improving management and familiarizing political and administrative decision-makers with new cooperative development approaches. The training manual is composed of seven modules, as follows:
Throughout these modules, the manual deals with ways in which trainers and promoters of cooperatives can support cooperative members and management in the development of their cooperative organizations. Its objectives are:
The manual will guide trainers through the process of training by providing a standard structure in each module, including the following units: Objectives of the unit, Key learning points, Teaching strategy, and Reference information. A range of examples and exercises are also given. The English version of the training manual,has been published and is now being disseminated. The French version of the manual has been prepared and is being printed for publication. At the same time, preparation of the Spanish version has started. In addition, a computer presentation of the use of the Maual has also been prepared.
Completion of FAO study on Cooperative Capital Formation in Kenya |
This study on "Capital Formation and Kenyan Farmer-Owned Cooperatives" was carried out in collaboration with the Turku School of Economics and Business Administration, Turku, Finland and thanks to extra-budgetary financing received from the Government of Finland.
Field research was conducted in Kenya during 1998 and focused on an in-depth examination of capital formation and investment behaviour in a sample of eight cooperatives within Kenya's dairy and coffee sectors. In January, 1999, FAO, in collaboration with the ICA Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa, held a sub-regional workshop in Moshi, Tanzania to discuss the findings and conclusions of this study and to come up with recommendations for follow-up action in the sub-region in which government and movement representatives from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia participated. In late 1999, FAO published and distributed to COPAC members a summary report of the findings and recommendations of the study, and in early 2000, the final detailed report on the study was published by Turku School of Economics and Business Administration, Those interested in receiving a copy of the full report should contact: Dr. Pasi Malinen Business Research and Development Centre, Turku School of Economics and Business Administration, PO Box 110, FIN-20521, Turku, Finland.
FAO has assisted in: | |
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FAO-ICA Workshop on Cooperative Capital Formation and Management Training | ||
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| This workshop was organized in collaboration with the ICA Sub Regional Office for Eastern, Central and Southern Africa and held on January 18 - 23, 1999 at the Uhuru Lutheran Hostel in Moshi, Tanzania. The main purpose of this workshop was to discuss the findings and recommendations of the FAO-Turku study on agricultural cooperative capital formation in Kenya and to critically review the draft version of the FAO Training of Trainers manual on agricultural cooperative development for its adaptation within the sub-region. Twenty-five persons from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia participated in the workshop, including government officials, co-operative trainers and movement leaders. They came from government ministries, co-operative institutions, and national co-operative federations, respectively. |
The others were representatives from the co-sponsoring agency, i.e. the organising International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), from FAO Headquarters, from the FAO Regional Office for Africa and international researchers from the Turku School of Economics and Business Administration. The workshop was divided into two working sessions: the first two-and-a-half day session addressed the theme of co-operative capital formation in agricultural cooperatives in the sub-region and lasted from Monday, 18 January until mid-day, Wednesday, 20 January. The second session on the topic of co-operative management training began on Thursday, 21 January and lasted until mid-day Saturday, 23 January. |
Workshop recommendations on capital formation included:
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Continued collaboration with COPAC | |
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| FAO, one of the founding members of the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC), which also hosted the COPAC Secretariat between 1971 and 1996, continues to provide its technical and financial support for the operation of this unique international cooperative organization. The World Food Summit Plan of Action and FAO´s new policy puts a strong emphasis on the importance of building new partnerships, networks, and coalitions among governmental and non-governmental organizations for sustainable agricultural and rural development and food security. COPAC is considered one of the best examples of successful networks at international level, which was established far before the issue became such a high priority on the global agenda. In light of FAO´s new policy of strictly linking expenditures to outputs, increasing importance is attached to the complementarities in the activities of FAO and COPAC to make sure that COPAC will produce important outputs which, without COPAC, FAO would not be able to produce. In 1999-2000, the main areas of collaboration between the Rural Development Division of FAO and COPAC are as follows: Preparation of a typology of and lessons learnt from existing strategic alliances of cooperatives, farmers´ and rural workers´ organizations at grass-roots level and proposals for enhanced strategic alliances. As a follow-up to the World Food Summit, FAO´s Rural Development Division has been actively involved in the promotion of the ACC Network on Food Security and Rural Development at both international and national level. At national level, Thematic Groups on Rural Development and Food Security have been established in the framework of the Network, in which international and national public and civil society organizations work together to enhance synergies in their activities for sustainable food security. The COPAC study will contribute to extending the scope of Thematic Groups' to grass-roots level by providing a series of case studies on successful examples of strategic alliances among the primary organizations belonging to the constituencies of COPAC, such as agricultural and other rural cooperatives, credit unions, farmers´ and workers´ organizations, trade unions. |
Cooperative Legislation and Public Policy FAO has a significant programme providing legal assistance to member states on cooperatives mainly in the framework of the Rural Development Division's regular programme, aiming to prepare and disseminate guidelines for member governments on restructuring the cooperative sector in the context of market-driven reforms. In addition, assistance by the Development Law Service centres on the drafting of agricultural legislation, but legal advice is also given in connection with institutional restructuring, international agreements and other matters. COPAC organized a consultation entitled Cooperative Legislation and Public Policy, which included discussion of and a report on timely legal aspects of cooperative restructuring processes in developing countries and countries in transition. COPAC Web Site and Databank Project In the framework of these COPAC activities, FAO supports the establishment of an interactive databank of useful agricultural cooperative business/trade information, including agricultural market analysis and trade forecasts which could be accessed by agricultural cooperatives in developing countries, in particular in the Africa region. This interactive databank complements FAO's current efforts aimed at strengthening agricultural cooperative capital formation and investment decision-making in that region and is a logical follow-up to recommendations arising out of the recent sub-regional workshop on that topic. Furthermore, the COPAC web pages include links to FAO information on cooperatives - highlighting new publications on the Rural Administration and Cooperatives. Strengthening cooperative business capacities to compete in global markets through computerization In response to the recommendations of the FAO-ICA sub-regional workshop on capital formation and management training held in Moshi, Tanzania in 1999, FAO has launched an initiative to strengthen the computerized business information processing and e-business capacities of agricultural cooperatives aimed at improving their competitiveness in global markets. Discussions are now underway to see how COPAC and its members can assist in that effort. |
The Gender Dimension | ||
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| The world over, statistics show that women´s participation in cooperatives is low, especially in rural cooperatives. Cooperatives have tended to be synonymous with "men´s" cooperatives. Rural women's participation in agricultural cooperatives and their decision-making processes needs be increased, particularly in view of the important activities women carry out in the strive for food security through agricultural production, and the impact cooperatives have through its importance in their village life. Cooperative law often condones such discrimination by providing that the head of the family attends meetings: the fact that the wife is often de facto - or even de jure - head of the family is not always seen as enough reason for her to participate. When cooperative laws are revised, all provisions which make for gender discrimination should therefore be weeded out to avoid aggravating the problems faced by women in their attempts to be integrated into the participatory cooperative structures. |
In addition, with greater freedom to decide on the types of business to conduct through a cooperative, the way is open for the development of activities of specific interest to women such as small cooperative mills, food storage and preservation, production of household necessities like soap and clothing, small animal raising and handicrafts. More stress should also be laid on cooperatives´ social function by organizing services which would relieve women from certain of their tasks: child care services or drudgery-reducing activities, or assist with organizing marriages and other ceremonies. | |
Following the request from the Government of Bulgaria, FAO provided assistance under its Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) to the formulation of a strategy for agricultural development and food security consistent with sustainable economic development, GATT/WTO commitments and the country's objective to join the EU. Given the long history of rural savings and credit cooperatives in the Bulgarian economy, an analysis of the present and future role of the Private Mutual Rural Credit Associations (PMRCAs) as a provider of durable and sustainable financial services to the agricultural and rural sector was carried out. |
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This information has been made available on the Internet by
the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives COPAC.
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Posted: 30 June 2000
