Cooperatives: Rural Development and Decent Work

1
Cooperatives Rural Development and Decent Work

• Maria Elena Chavez
• Deputy Director-General,
• International Co-operative Alliance (ICA)
• and
• Coordinator, Committee for the Promotion
  Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC)

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What is a cooperative?

• an autonomous association of persons united
  voluntarily to meet their common economic,
  social, and cultural needs and aspirations
  through a jointly-owned and democratically-control
  led enterprise.
• holds ethical values
• operates under seven internationally recognized
  Cooperative Principles

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Economic Social Development

• Cooperative enterprises provide the
  organizational means whereby a significant
  proportion of humanity is able to take into its
  own hands the task of creating productive
  employment, overcoming poverty and achieving
  social integration
• UN Secretary-General

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Economic Social Development

• ½ worlds population supported by co-ops
• 100 million jobs provided by co-ops more than
  multinationals
• Saludcoop (health co-op) of Colombia is the 2nd
  largest employer in the country
• 1 in 5 Kenyans is a member of a co-op. 20 million
  Kenyans directly or indirectly derive their
  livelihoods from co-ops.
• 40 of Canadians and 40 of Americans were
  members of at least one co-op

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Co-ops can contribute to

• Rural development community development
• Employment creation including non-farm jobs
• Empowering women
• Enable the voice of rural populations through
  representation in the development process

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Success Stories

• Africa (West Africa) - co-ops heavily committed
  to community development. Uganda - farmers
  co-op provides savings and credit facilities and
  builds processing plant
• Costa Rica unemployed farm workers set up an
  agricultural production co-op plus introduce
  eco-tourism to generate jobs and revenue
• Canada and Sweden rural co-ops create jobs and
  revitalise communities
• Around the world rural communities turn to
  agro-tourism to create jobs and provide non-farm
  income.

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Africa

• Benin In 2002 FECECAM provided over USD 18
  million in rural credit.
• Côte d'Ivoire USD 26 millions invested by
  co-ops every year in community development
  including schools, rural roads, maternity
  clinics, etc.

• Burkina Faso Rural savings and credit co-ops
  have introduced health insurance and HIV/AIDS
  education
• Uganda Vanilla production co-op providing jobs
  to women

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Americas Asia - Europe

• CoopeSilencio, Costa Rica established eco-tourism
  programmes controlled run by women, invested in
  providing schooling professional training,
  promotes environmental conservation.

• Agro or eco-tourism initiatives have also been
  developed in Brazil (Amazoncoop), Italy,
  Thailand.
• Aboriginal co-ops in Canada created economies
  where none existed with the introduction of
  artisan co-ops.
• New co-operatives in rural Sweden provide social
  services

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Basic needs for co-ops

• Appropriate policy and legislative environment at
  national and appropriate implementation at local
  levels
• Functioning economy and access to credit
• Human resource development training and education

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Conclusion

• By identifying common interests and uniting them
  with shared values, people can make a difference
  for the better, in their own lives and in the
  lives of those around them through the
  cooperative form of enterprise

ICA is the representative organization of
cooperatives at the global level. Its has over
230 international and national member
organizations from 100 countries and from all
sectors of the economy representing more than 760
million individuals.
COPAC is on-going partnership between
representatives of the cooperative movement,
farmers organizations, and the United Nations
and its agencies. It members include FAO, ICA,
IFAP, ILO and the UN.