Strategic Dialogue on Cooperative Development for Rural and Agrifood Systems Transformation in the Near East and North African Region
On 28 October, under the ICA-EU Financial Framework Partnership Agreement 2 (FFPA 2), the ICA-AP Regional Office, in association with FAOs Near East and North African Region Office (FAO NENA), and the ICA Africa organized a virtual “Strategic Dialogue on Cooperative Development for Rural and Agrifood Systems Transformation in the Near East and North African Region”. The strategic dialogue, moderated by Ms. May Hani, FAO Senior Programme Officer/ Team Leader Rural Transformation and Inclusive Value Chains, FAO RNE, highlighted that cooperatives can play in transforming rural and agrifood systems in the NENA region.
Keynote speaker Mr. Abdel Fattah Al-Shalabi, Director General, Jordan Cooperative Corporation, highlighted how agricultural cooperatives contribute to food security and their importance in inclusion to national strategies. Dr. Sifa Chiyoge, Regional Director, ICA Africa, outlined the dialogue’s core objectives, while Ms. Sara Vicari, FAO RNE International Expert on Agriculture Cooperatives, shared insights from a study on cooperatives’ role in achieving food security and sustainable development in NENA. Ms. Monalisa Kashyap, Program Coordination & Advocacy Officer from ICA-AP, presented research on the significance of policy and legal frameworks for agricultural cooperative development.
The roundtable featured speakers from FAO (Ms. Mohammed Bengoumi, Coordinator of the programme in support to professional organizations FAO SNE), Lebanon’s Ministry of Agriculture (Ms. Gloria Abou Zeid, Director General of Cooperatives), Maghrebian and North African Farmers Union (UMNAGRI) (Ms. Rim Ferchichi, Secretary General), Alliance Africa Agricultural Cooperative Organisation (Mr. Musa Sibandze, Chair, AAACO), and International Cooperative Agricultural Organisation (Mr. Wook Lee, Secretary General, ICAO), who discussed cooperative success stories, creating an enabling environment for coop development and key topics for the upcoming in-person regional dialogue in January 2025.
The discussion concluded the role of cooperatives as catalysts in transforming agrifood systems and advancing food security and sustainable development. It also underscored that sub-regions across the Asia-Pacific encounter similar challenges in establishing enabling policies and supportive legal frameworks for cooperative growth. This shared landscape calls for cross-border learning, unified strategies, and substantial policy reform to tackle global challenges, including climate change, food security, and economic inequality.
In closing, Mr. Balu Iyer, Regional Director, ICA-AP, Dr. Chiyoge, and Mr. Jaouad Bahaji, ONCA Ministry of Agriculture, Morocco, shared final remarks. Mr. Bahaji invited participants to the in-person regional dialogue in Morocco, set for January 2025 as part of the International Year of Cooperatives.
