News: International Day of Cooperatives– Cooperative Enterprise Empowers Women

July 2, 2010, Paris, France – On July 3^rd, 2010, the UN International Day of Cooperatives celebrating the theme “Cooperative enterprise empowers women,” the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) encourages the adoption and strengthening of the cooperative business model as an instrument capable of improving the status and living conditions of women around the world.

As women farmers play a key role in ensuring society’s food security, they are indispensable in building the world’s sustainable future. Agricultural cooperatives enable recognition of women farmers, while improving their living conditions and increasing access to leadership positions.

Karen Serres, President of the IFAP Committee of Women Farmers, said "As the collective organizational framework of cooperatives strengthens the development and marketing of farm products, they are thereby a necessary help to women farmers who often lack in means on an individual basis.” Karen Serres emphasized “Women farmers have a role to play in the running of cooperatives that are democratic and dynamic structures serving the interests of farming."

Marcus Borgström, President of the IFAP Committee on Agricultural Cooperatives, said “The role of women in cooperatives is essential, as they are at the beginning of the food chain.” He highlighted “Everyone downstream, from processors to consumers, benefit at the national level by women farmers playing leadership roles in cooperatives.”

IFAP is celebrating this day as part of the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC), which is a joint initiative of IFAP together with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations (UN). Founded in 1968, the objective of COPAC is to promote cooperatives through inter-agency collaboration.

IFAP encourages its members to celebrate this day, keeping in mind that women farmers’ active involvement in coops is an indispensable factor to support their empowerment and thus achieve sustainable development.

IFAP Statement ‘Cooperative Enterprise Empowers Women’ for the International Day of Cooperatives, July 3, 2010
http://www.ifap.org/knowledge-base/detail/en/?dyna_fef[uid]=43589