After a prolonged decline, world hunger and malnutrition appear to be on the rise again. Conflicts, extreme weather events linked to climate change and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic are among the key factors causing this reversal in progress.
Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Cooprogreso Ltda (COOPROGRESO) is a savings and credit cooperative founded in Pomasqui city in Ecuador in 1969. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it carried out an awareness raising programme and distributed essential relief items to vulnerable groups in the communities.
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Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Riobamba Ltda Ecuador - Two men sharing information in the field.
Ibdaa Cooperative for Agricultural Processing produces rural products such as snake cucumber, also known as the yard-long cucumber. The cooperative provided its members with production tools and equipment, labels, and registered a trademark for the pickled products, creating job opportunities for women members of the cooperative.
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Economic and Social Development Center of Palestine (ESDC) - Women farmers processing cucumber in Deir Ballout, Salfit Governorate, occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).
COOPEPARRITA TROPICAL R.L. is a papaya marketing cooperative in Costa Rica established in 2012 by a group of 26 farmers from the Parrita canton. The cooperative strives to produce good quality papayas while protecting the environment. It contributes back to the community by distributing papayas and making donations to schools, community associations, schools and homes for the elderly.
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Instituto Nacional de Fomento Cooperativo (INFOCOOP) - Two young people harvesting papaya using a work tool crafted by the cooperative.
The Gikama Agribusiness Cooperative Society in Mwanza, Kenya started a savings and loan group and its members received training in management and new cultivation techniques from We Effect, a cooperative development organization. As a result, the members have increased their production and income and diversified their products beyond bananas.
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We Effect - The Gikama cooperative members at a bulk banana sale, held twice a month.
Megha Cooperative is an Agriculture Producers’ Cooperative of more than a thousand indigenous women farmers in southern Gujarat, India. The cooperative, a member of the SEWA Cooperative Federation, provides its members with livelihood support, healthcare, childcare, and financial services and capacity building.
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SEWA Cooperative Federation - Women from Megha Cooperative collectively planting rice shoots.
In Rwanda, farmer-owned dairy cooperatives have been instrumental in helping secure markets for members’ products by facilitating storage, transport and marketing of products. Dairy cooperatives can also improve returns to members by processing milk into different dairy products and negotiating better prices for their members.
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Land O’Lakes Venture37 - Two men processing milk in Rwanda