Summary of the ICAO/IFAP Joint Seminar on “Policy Environments in Promoting Agricultural Co-operatives”
Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday 21 September 2004
By Mr Lyu, Secretary General, ICAO

The opening addresses this morning shared a common enthusiasm for cooperatives and agricultural development. The speakers discussed the complexity of the subject. They noted that in dealing with this topic that many issues must be considered. Some key points were that agricultural policy development must take place at both the national and international level and the growing presence of multinational corporations.

In the discussion four panelists discussed the work being done with regard to cooperatives from their respective international organizations. Some common themes emerged.

We heard of the importance of the ILO recommendations and how these now need to be implemented to be effective. We saw that cooperatives are not isolated entities but directly affected by national and international movements. The CAP and possible changes to it, for example, presents an uncertain future for cooperatives in the EU.

It was also noted that we couldn’t ignore consumers and the importance of cooperatives at this end as well.

Cooperatives are also taking initiatives on their own to deal with the changing environment. One driving factor is the increasing power of the multinationals. The concentration in the food sector is forcing cooperatives to also look at new mergers and alliances both nationally and internationally.

It also appears that there is some consensus that international organizations including the ICA, ICAO, the ILO and IFAP should collaborate more closely to set up clear goals and initiatives to promote cooperatives and to be more involved in lobbying government.

In the afternoon session we had a good opportunity to learn more about Polish agriculture and agricultural cooperatives. We can see that Poland cooperatives share some of the same concerns as cooperatives globally. The need for education for the general public about cooperatives and greater cooperation among farmers and their cooperatives are two primary considerations of cooperatives here and around the world.

In our case studies we saw cooperatives have had a long history and represent a significant presence in the agricultural industry of all of these countries.

However common concerns exist. Market liberalization and international trade policies appear to be the primary concerns of cooperatives as well as low capitalization and some misunderstandings about the relationship with government.

Most speakers however stated the importance of support from their governments, whether through special taxes or legislation, for future development. But there is also the general idea that cooperatives themselves need to evolve and adapt.

I hope all of you enjoyed the seminar and I hope that we can move on the proposal made about further collaboration to set clear goals based on our discussions today.