Earth Protect Blog

Agricultural cooperatives are the focus of World Food Day 2012.

The official World Food Day theme, announced each spring by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), gives focus to World Food Day observances and raises awareness and understanding of approaches to ending hunger.

“Agricultural cooperatives – key to feeding the world” is the formal wording of the 2012 theme. It has been chosen to highlight the role of cooperatives in improving food security and contributing to the eradication of hunger.

Interest in cooperatives and rural organizations is also reflected in the decision of the UN General Assembly to designate 2012 “International Year of Cooperatives.”

To learn more, check out these videos on Earth Protect

World Food Day 2012 PSA

Democracy, equality, economic participation, independence education and concern for the community.... With the right policies, agricultural cooperatives can be the key to food security.


Hungry Planet Episode 20 - Special Report

Three reports on agricultural cooperatives, a key to food security. In Guatemala, farmers making a living from small plots of land struggle to produce bigger crops, become better connected to markets and earn more money. In Afghanistan, as foreign troops prepare to leave, an unexpected kind of peace building is taking place thanks to the rise in dairy cooperatives. In Southern Niger, agricultural cooperatives gain access to better seeds and better farming techniques to fight the region's severe droughts.


World Food Day 2012 video feature

For people working in all areas of agriculture, all over the world, cooperatives and producers' organizations give their members a voice and promote peace in the community. And by marketing almost half the world's agricultural output, cooperatives boost food production and incomes - and the global economy.


Roberto Rodrígues, FAO Special Ambassador for Cooperatives

Roberto Rodrígues, former president of the International Cooperative Alliance, discusses the importance of the cooperatives movement and the role it plays in improving the economic and social welfare of 4 billion people around the globe.