At the start of the United Nations' Closing Ceremony for the International Year of Co-operatives, co-operators came together for a panel discussion on how the global sector can combat poverty and hunger around the world.
Dame Pauline Green, President of the International Co-operative Alliance, declared a new era for co-operatives has been borne out of the International Year. In her speech, the President spoke of the co-operative enterprise model as key to tackling the economic crisis, food security and unemployment.
Dame Pauline made reference to the World Development Report of 2008, emphasising that three billion people, nearly half of humanity, currently live in rural areas. In the light of growing concerns over food supply by 2050, the ICA leader described how co-ops could sustain growth, help to alleviate poverty and tackle hunger.
"The question for all of us, co-operatives or not, is how do we best square that circle - a scarcity of food supply worldwide by 2050," she said. "The co-operative model of business could be a valuable tool in building sustainable, grass roots agricultural businesses in Africa."
Dame Pauline continued: "At this moment it is co-operative enterprises, that are so often the lynchpin of the real economy, keeping life going for so many at grass roots level in economies under stress. Co-operatives can bring transformational change to the way business is conducted."
Vincent Lokin, the Executive Director Cooperatives Banking and Sustainability of Rabobank, opened the morning's session with a keynote speech that said food security must be the top priority of co-ops in order to achieve a better world.
Mr Lokin explained that although the International had been a milestone for the Co-operative Movement, "we must realise that the great job is yet to be done," he said. Rabobank, one of the world's largest co-ops, was founded by farmers 114 years ago, it is now the 26th largest financial institution in the world, and is present in 47 countries.
"We are facing increasing geographical imbalance between food production and consumption, growing scarcity of natural resources and even more extreme weather conditions in the coming decades. The food sector is also becoming more and more interlinked to other sectors that an increase in energy prices will immediately lead to higher food prices;" said Mr Lokin.
He added that the world needs a new vision on agriculture and new business models, because "?business as usual' no longer meets the global food requirements of the 21st century."
During the session, Jack Wilkinson, Director, Nipissing-Sudbury Cooperative, said governments need to start creating a world in which co-operatives can grow. Mr Wilkinson said that if the benefits of the co-operative model are well known; "why is it not the business model of choice? What do we need to do differently to what we're currently doing?"
He asked why co-operative education wasn't taught in schools or MBAs. Why, he said, are these courses tucked away at small institutions, rather than being taught at the big business schools? The Director continued and said that the Movement had to make a "conscious effort" and it will be a "challenge" but they need a "more aggressive strategy".
On behalf of the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization, Nora Ourabah Haddad said the FAO sees co-ops as a key partner in fighting poverty and ending hunger. She continued by saying the last three decades have witnessed a withdrawal of public institutions from rural areas, with an institutional void filled imperfectly, either by the private or public sectors.
She also said food prices are high at the moment, and there is a strong probability that the level of prices will remain high. She added this trend could have constituted an important opportunity for small producers.
However, Nora Ourabah Haddad said small stakeholders on their own cannot make the most of this opportunity. Ms Ourabah Haddad explained how co-ops intervene in this process, offering small producers the chance to gain access to the global market.
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