What role do cooperatives play in strengthening rural resilience according to the We Effect?
Agricultural cooperatives play a crucial role in strengthening rural development, improving livelihoods, and building resilience among smallholder farmers across low- and middle-income countries. For us, an organization rooted in the Swedish cooperative movement, member-owned organizations are key drivers of long-term transformative change. Cooperatives are more than social structures – they are businesses that enable economic organization, market access, and local ownership, and they are essential actors in advancing rural development, gender equality, and resilience across regions.
How does We Effect’s rights-based approach address the causes of food insecurity?
We work primarily with member-based farmer organizations, housing cooperatives and savings and credit associations, alongside strategic partners such as environmental and women’s rights organizations. All activities are guided by a rights-based approach that emphasizes local ownership, participation, transparency, and accountability.
Together with its partner organizations, We Effect addresses the root causes preventing people from realizing their right to food and adequate housing. In food systems, these challenges include distorted production and market structures, weak policy implementation, and insufficient support for smallholder farmers, particularly women, alongside climate change and biodiversity loss. For consumers, low household incomes and limited access to nutritious food constrain consumption and market participation.
We also work to advance the right to adequate housing, responding to the global housing crisis driven by insecure land tenure, forced evictions, climate-related displacement, and housing markets shaped by speculation rather than social need. By applying cooperative principles and a right-based approach, We Effect takes a unique approach that links housing, food security, and long-term sustainable development.
How do cooperatives contribute to livelihoods and resilience for smallholder farmers?
Smallholder farmers face increasing uncertainty: climate change, volatile markets, high production costs, and often limited access to capital. Cooperatives are one of the most effective models for creating collective strength within this complex reality. By coming together, farmers can negotiate better prices, invest in technology and infrastructure, share risks, and strengthen their position in value chains.
Cooperatives function as both economic and social institutions. They enhance production by providing access to inputs, services, training, and innovation support. At the same time, they strengthen household resilience by offering more stable income flows and opportunities for diversification – factors that are increasingly important as climate impacts intensify.
In many contexts where state institutions are weak or lacking reach, cooperatives fill critical gaps by providing advisory services, financial solutions, and social protection. They also create platforms for farmers to collectively advocate for their rights, market access, and fairer conditions.
What conditions need to be placed for cooperatives to effectively contribute to food security?
There is no single intervention that delivers food security. For cooperatives to contribute to both food security and equitable market access, several conditions need to be in place.
First, strong internal governance is essential. Cooperatives need effective boards, transparent financial management, and democratic participation. Without these foundations, cooperatives risk losing member trust and momentum. Second, access to finance is critical. Many smallholder farmers cannot invest in inputs or equipment due to high interest rates or lack of collateral. While cooperatives can offer collective financing solutions, external support from development actors and social investment funds is often required. Third, market access plays a key role. Cooperatives can help farmers meet quality standards, certification requirements, and logistical challenges. This is especially relevant in regions where producers must adapt to EU regulations or other demanding export market requirements.
“Food security is not achieved by producing more alone – but creating economic structures that give farmers stronger earning power and incentives to invest”.
Why do some countries hesitate towards cooperative models?
While cooperative thieves in many regions – such as dairy in Kenya, coffee in Latin America, or grain in the Nordics – they are not universally embraced. In some countries, cooperatives have weaker standing, shaped by historical experiences, political mistrust, or problematic associations.
In countries such as Ukraine, the term “cooperative” carries negative connotations linked to the legacy of Soviet collective farms. In other contexts, cooperatives were once state-controlled or used as political instruments, leaving behind scepticism.
Where cooperatives have potential but lack legitimacy, both institutional support and cultural adaptation are needed. Strengthening member-owned enterprises must be rooted in local experiences and models that people feel ownership over. In some cases, this may even require using alternative terminology, such as “member-based organizations”, to build trust, signal local ownership, and support member-driven structures while keeping the focus on participation and accountability.
Why is women’s leadership key for resilient cooperatives?
One of our highest priorities at We Effect is supporting women’s leadership and land rights. In many countries, women lack formal land rights, which limits their ability to invest, access loans, and participate fully in cooperatives. This is why We Effect focuses on strengthening women’s access to land, promoting gender-equal representation in cooperative governance, supporting women’s entrepreneurship and business development, increasing women’s influence over household financial decisions.
“Gender equality is not only a rights issue – it is a prerequisite for effective development.”
In most cases, we see that cooperatives become more robust in gender-equal organizations where women play an active role as members and in management: production stabilizes, incomes diversify, and investments are more likely to prioritize long-term household needs. Across several partner countries, women’s leadership has contributed to higher savings rates, stronger risk management, and greater social cohesion, all key elements of food security.
What are the barriers of cooperatives in advancing climate resilience and rural development?
Cooperatives have strong potential to advance climate resilience, but they face several constraints. The costs of climate adaptation such as irrigation systems or crop-drying technologies are very high. There is also limited access to data and advisory services (including climate projections and sustainable practices), insufficient political support such as instable land rights, subsides, or regulations. At the same time, many cooperatives remain financially vulnerable, meaning that extreme weather events can be devastating when there are no financial buffers.
At We Effect, we work to support risk-management strategies, advisory services, and joint business development. However, much greater investment is needed by both governments and international actors.
How does diversification help cooperatives adapt to climate change?
Across several program countries in East Africa, we support cooperatives to diversify income sources. This often means shifting from reliance on a single crop to a combination of farming, processing, and small-scale trade.
Diversification has become not only a strategy but a necessity for survival. We see cooperatives investing in dairy collection and processing systems, fruit and vegetable processing, tree planting and agroforestry, local markets and value-additions units. These investments help mitigate the impacts of drought, price fluctuations, and crop losses. These efforts have contributed to more stable incomes, stronger engagement, and improved climate adaptation.
What policy and investment shifts are needed?
The potential of cooperatives is far from exhausted, but to continue strengthening food security and rural resilience, three major shifts are needed. First, more stable financing for agriculture and smallholder farmers; long-term organisational development and capacity-building rather than short project cycles. Second, there must be greater investments in value chains and green and climate-smart technologies, especially those that smallholders cannot afford independently. Third, policies that recognize cooperatives as economic actors, not solely as social organizations.
Strengthening cooperatives ultimately means strengthening the people who underpin rural economies. With the right investments, rights protections, and local ownership, cooperatives can remain one of the most inclusive and sustainable models for development, food security, and resilience in a rapidly changing world.
How is We Effect approaching potential collaboration and support cooperatives in Ukraine?
We are currently exploring, rather than implementing, potential collaboration opportunities in Ukraine, with IFAD being one possible partner. At this stage, we are mapping the country’s cooperative landscape and gaining a clearer understanding of the role smallholder farmers play in Ukraine’s food system – a challenge given the limited availability of reliable data.
Ukraine’s agriculture is dominated by large-scale monoculture production, but a smaller segment of smallholders contributes significantly to national food security. Any future agreement would therefore focus on supporting member-based farmer organizations and helping them meet EU sustainability requirements.
While IFAD could become a strategic partner, particularly in combining loans with grant-based support from actors like Sida, no formal commitments have been made. At this stage, our involvement remains guided by its rights-based approach, meaning that any future project would be developed together with Ukrainian partner organizations rather than being designed externally.