Agricultural cooperatives have a key role to play toward achieving a “future without hunger.”
It is for this reason that the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization has opened a liaison office for agricultural cooperatives and producers. The office will help strengthen the organization’s relationship with the group.
The office, according to FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva, is also meant to give voice to the sector, which has been proven to play a significant role in farmers’ livelihood, income and social inclusion in many countries. In Egypt, for example, 4 million farmers earn their income through membership in agricultural cooperatives. And in Brazil, cooperatives contribute 37 percent to the country’s agriculturalgross domestic product.
The opening of the office is very timely, considering 2012 is the International Year of Cooperatives. It comes ahead of World Food Day, whose theme this year is “Agricultural cooperatives – key to feeding the world.”
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