UN Division for Sustainable Development

Case Study Detail Record

Organization type:	Government

Name of Ministry/Agency:	Department of State

Country:	United States of America

Name of Focal Point:	Hiram Larew

Initiative Title:	Strengthening Capacities of Member-Owned, Self-Governing and Market-Oriented Cooperatives

Internet links:	http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/cross-utting_programs/private_voluntary_cooperation/coop.html

Scope:	Global

Status:	Ongoing

Timeframe:	Start: End:

Lead Institution:	U.S. Agency for International Development

Stakeholders/Partners:	Rural communities

Relevent issues:	- Capacity building - Empowerment of local rural communities - Technology transfer

Objectives/Challenges:

Cooperatives (co-ops) are member-owned, democratic, community-based businesses. The USAID Cooperative Development Program strengthens the development of cooperative systems in developing countries and emerging democracies by utilizing the expertise and resources of long-established U.S. cooperative organizations, their members, and volunteers. Current focus is on credit, housing, agribusiness, technology transfer, democratic institutions, rural telecommunications and electrification, private enterprise development, and insurance protection sectors.

The program has helped developing countries overcome obstacles in starting and operating successful cooperatives, by finding workable solutions to impediments, ranging from restrictive cooperative law and regulation to practical implementation practices (e.g., raising member equity participation as a major element in self-reliance). The program's public outreach also raises awareness of international development issues among U.S. cooperatives and members.

Lessons Learned:

Agricultural co-ops are a successful rural development model that allows for increased economic benefits and the ability for members to direct and control their own development. The peer-to-peer approach between established cooperatives in the U.S. and those in developing countries ensures that practical solutions are found to on-the-ground implementation problems.

Summary:

Key Results -

Among its successes, the program has eased trade and marketing restriction for a coffee cooperative in Ethiopia (i.e., authorization to export member coffee directly, bypassing the central auction and giving more control and market share to the producer) and for cattle marketing cooperatives in West Africa (i.e., reducing bribes and improving security for cross-border cattle trade). Credit union cooperatives have also developed programs to expedite migrant worker remittances in the United States to Central America, handling over $1.4 billion so far. The Cooperative Law and Regulation Initiative developed widely used guidelines, Enabling Cooperative Development: Principles for Legal Reform. http://www.ocdc.coop/clarity/report/clarity.pdf