Co-organised by the ICA-AP Committee on Agriculture and Environment (ICAE) and the Network for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives in Asia and the Pacific (NEDAC), the session brought together cooperative leaders, practitioners, and policymakers to share practical experiences and emerging lessons.

The discussions opened with remarks by Mr. Pankaj Kumar Bansal, IAS, Chairman, NEDAC and Additional Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India, who underlined why cooperative led agriculture is essential for a climate ready future. He highlighted the capacity of cooperatives to aggregate small producers, promote sustainable practices, and channel investment into resilient value chains that can withstand climate and market-related shocks.

From India, Mr. Jyoti Saroop of The Unnati Co-operative Marketing Cum Processing Society Limited spoke about how farmer-owned processing and marketing can support better prices, reduce wastage, and encourage more sustainable cultivation practices. He drew attention to the importance of building integrated value chains, from soil to shelf, that keep producers at the centre.

Adding a perspective from Japan, Mr. Hirofumi Kobayashi of IDACA discussed the role of training, advisory services, and international exchange in helping agricultural cooperatives adopt climate-responsive technologies and management systems. He stressed that peer learning among cooperatives, across borders, is vital for scaling good practices.

From Sri Lanka, Ms. Anitha Munasinghe of Solidaridad Network shared experiences on promoting climate smart production models that link smallholders to responsible markets. She underlined how partnerships between cooperatives, civil society and the private sector can drive changes in land use, water management and diversification of crops, while improving livelihoods.

In his closing reflections, Dr. Chandrapal Singh Yadav, President, ICA-AP, reaffirmed that cooperatives are central to rural transformation, not peripheral to it. He noted that ICAE and NEDAC will continue to support agricultural cooperatives as key actors in climate action, food security, and sustainable rural development across the region.