The International Cooperative Alliance – Asia and Pacific (ICA-AP) has launched a new partnership with nonprofit Heifer International to combat food poverty in Asia through cooperation.
Themed ‘Seeding Strength: Empowering Farmer Cooperatives’, the campaign promotes the role of agricultural co-ops in India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Nepal and highlights the power smallholder farmers gain when organised into cooperatives.
The campaign was launched during a virtual event on 9 July, featuring more than 170 development leaders, NGO partners, cooperative champions, academics, and farmer representatives from across Asia. The MoU for this partnership, which is being carried out under the ICA-EU Program, was signed on June 23.
“Farmer cooperatives are democratic, values-based institutions rooted in solidarity and self-help,” said Balasubramanian Iyer, Regional Director of ICA-AP, at the launch. “They not only strengthen rural-urban linkages and improve access to safe, nutritious food, but also embed social purpose into business. Their power lies in their ability to pool resources, build resilience, and drive people-centred, planet-friendly prosperity. The future of agriculture lies not in the hands of a few giants, but in the joint hands of many,” he added.
“When farmers band together through co-operatives, it amplifies their voices, strengthens their bargaining power, and attracts investment to build better enterprises, helping them feed a growing population while caring for the earth,” said Senior Vice President for Asia Programs at Heifer International, Neena Joshi.
“At Heifer International, with over 80 years of experience, we are shifting our focus from supporting individual households to addressing the broader structural barriers that keep smallholder farmers from thriving,” she added.
Participants also heard from Tulsi Thapa, President of Bihani Social Entrepreneurs Women Cooperative and Central Joint Secretary of SEWA Nepal, who described her journey from smallholder farmer to cooperative leader, and called on policymakers and stakeholders to support cooperatives.
“Cooperatives are the spinal cord of rural development, and we all have a role in strengthening them,” she added, explaining that cooperatives need access to finance, insurance, technology, and markets.
Panellists also explored how Heifer-supported cooperatives directly contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).
Between now and September, the joint campaign will aim to engage decision makers, donors, private sector actors, multilateral organisations, academia, media, and the public to mobilise greater support for cooperative-led solutions.
Supporters are encouraged to join the movement by sharing co-operative success stories using the #SeedingStrength hashtag and participating in upcoming webinars and forums led by ICA-AP and Heifer International.
