Cooperation with cooperative systems in Brazil and Argentina

The association partnership started in 2011 in the agricultural cooperative sector of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. In 2014, the project began to work with the Argentinian cooperative sector as well. Since 2016 the joint work has also been extended to other Brazilian states under the direction of the umbrella organization OCB - the apex organisation of the Brazilian cooperative sector. In July 2017, the project began its 3rd phase, operating with OCB as principal project partner. Major change is the focus of the project, being now on a national level while having been on a regional level before. Agricultural cooperatives play an important role in the southern and central states of Brazil and in Argentina: they generate around 50% of the agricultural production value. Important areas of action are training and further development as well as personnel development, internal and external auditing as well as inter-cooperative cooperation.