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 new President of the International Cooperative Alliance, Mr. Roberto Rodrigues, a Memorandum of Understanding has been finalized 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. FAO provides continued technical and financial support, also through its Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) in Bangkok, to theRegional Network for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives in Asia and the Pacific (NEDAC). NEDAC was established with the assistance of FAO and has been supported by both FAO Headquarters and the Regional Office. Recent milestones of the FAO assistance include the following:
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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, which was field tested in selected countries in Asia and Africa before printing, is now being disseminated. At same time, preparation of the French version through a process of translation, adaptation and testing has started and will be completed later this year.
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. The detailed analytical report of 325 pages, including appendices, contains valuable insights on some of the main constraints in strengthening the capital formation and business performance of agricultural cooperatives in Kenya under current liberalized market conditions, and provides a series of useful recommendations to address these concerns in the sub-region.
FAO is now in the process of publishing a summarized version of the study findings for broader dissemination within the sub-region.
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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Fertilizer Cooperative | ||
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| The Indian Farmers´ Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), the largest fertilizer sector cooperative, was established in 1967, with the primary objective of increasing agricultural productivity and improving the rural economy by producing quality fertilizers and promoting the balanced use of these fertilizers. It is a multi-unit cooperative - a federation of approximately 30,000 societies from village to national level. IFFCO has also established 174 Farmers Service Centres where fertilizers, seed and agrochemicals are supplied under one roof and where farmers receive technical advice on the use of these agricultural inputs. The cooperative has far-reaching national linkages with farmers, researchers, extensionists, the private sector and government. Since 1992, IFFCO has launched an Integrated Plant Nutrition System (IPNS) programme in response to the identified need for more balanced nutrient application in Indian agriculture. The main objective of the programme is to improve soil fertility and productivity at farmers´ level in order to increase agricultural production and farmers´ income. FAO has been involved with the IFFCO IPNS programme since its inception in 1992, regularly providing advice on various technical aspects of its activities. A joint workshop on IPNS was organized in September 1992 and in 1993 the cooperative launched a programme of trials and demonstrations to promote IPNS. FAO |
Consultants have visited selected villages and established plant nutrient balance sheets for those villages. As a result of those balance sheets, FAO has been able to propose improved plant nutrient management techniques to farmers in those villages, thereby improving their productivity and fertilizer use efficiency and reducing nutrient losses to the environment. In April 1996, FAO agreed with the Government of India to finance and provide technical backstopping to a Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) entitled "Development of an Integrated Plant Nutrition System Methodology". IFFCO has been actively involved in implementing this Programme. In September 1996 IFFCO organized a workshop for all its regional staff involved in balanced fertilization and the IPNS programme throughout the country, as well as university professors and experts from the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Fertilizer Association of India (FAI). In this workshop the results of the last six IPNS campaigns were discussed and plans for future activities were elaborated. The most significant activity under the IFFCO-FAO Programme was the organization of an International IPNS seminar in November 1997, in which researchers involved in IPNS work from both the developed and developing world met to share their experiences in this area of work. Another important output of this TCP is a publication entitled "A Guide to Field Implementation of IPNS". The technical assistance continues with the framework of a Letter of Agreement arrangement and catalytic FAO funding support. | |
The role of cooperatives in managing aquaculture resources |
FAO´s Fishery Resources Division and Rural Development Division has launched a joint project which aims to prepare a "source book" on the role of small-scale aquaculture within rural development, with special reference to existing forms and models of cooperatives and other farmers´ organizations in aquaculture, and the potential role and forms of cooperatives/producers´ (farmers´) associations in managing aquaculture resources. During the first phase of project implementation in 1998 and early 1999, five case studies were prepared on the subject matter in Kenya, Laos, Panama, Sri Lanka and Zambia. Currently, a comparative analysis of case the studies and consolidated assessment of the role of cooperatives and other forms of associations in managing aquaculture resources is being carried out, the findings of which will be published later this year.
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, 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 scheduled 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. |
COPAC Open Forum on Successful Cooperative Development Models in Central and Eastern Europe In 1998, FAO´s Rural Development Division and its Sub-Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe launched a joint project entitled "Institutional Patterns of Rural Development in the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe". The long term objectives of the ongoing project is to develop post-transitional institutional models of rural development for the specific conditions of the former centrally planned economies of Central and Eastern Europe. Cooperatives call for particular attention in the process of institutional transformation in the sub-region. The theme of the COPAC Open Forum is fully relevant to the FAO project mentioned above. COPAC will arrange for a number of unbiased country case studies on successful surviving and new cooperative forms for discussion at the Forum, the findings of which will be consolidated in a synthesis report. 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 will organize a consultation entitled Cooperative Legislation and Public Policy, which will include 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 co-operative 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 (SD Dimensions:http://www.fao.org/sd), and agricultural cooperative legislation on FAOLEX database, and identification of cooperative development projects undertaken by members and non-members to allow COPAC members to pursue joint cooperative development activities. |
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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Posted: 28 June 1999
