Cooperation among farmers
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What we do
Working together
Farmers’ cooperation is a precondition for strengthening their position in the food supply chain. By working together, producers can benefit from the economies of scale and synergies to process and market their products.
Creating long-term benefits
At each stage of their growth, agri-cooperatives respond to the needs expressed democratically by farmers and to community and societal demands. Driven by the principles of the International Cooperative Alliance, agri-cooperatives actively contribute to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs) by innovating and creating social, economic and environmental benefits.
Empowering farmers through cooperatives
Today 6 million farmers are members of 22,000 cooperatives that provide employment to 600,000 women and men. Agricultural cooperatives play a key role in improving the lives of millions of smallholder farmers and their families, boosting innovation in the sector, empowering their farmer members, and providing employment in rural areas.
What we believe
Democratic decision-making
We believe that agri-cooperatives are the most suitable and advanced tool to respond to farmers organisational needs. They are successful businesses that unite farmers around common economic, social and environmental goals. Their success or failure is based on their ability to serve their farmer members who can decide democratically on the business’s development and trajectory, according to their needs and circumstances.
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What we call for
Encouraging farmer collaboration
To strengthen farmers’ position in the food supply chain, we call on the European institutions to encourage the setting up of producer organisations and the development of agri-cooperatives. It is of fundamental importance to promote farmers' cooperation by means of effective measures and financial support under the future CAP. Continuous investment and innovation are consequently needed to add value to produce and improve the effectiveness and competitiveness of agri-cooperatives, providing farmers with a better return.
Clarifying cooperation rules
The European institutions should take the initiative to promote collaboration between farmers and avoid confusion over the limits of producer cooperation in the agricultural sector. Such clarification would provide producer organisations with workable and efficient rules. We need to fully implement the principle that the CAP takes precedence over competition objectives, as recognised by the European Court of Justice.