The project aims to create a legal framework to promote and enable their growth, valuing the multiple contributions they make to society as a whole. The project cites the Declaration of the VI Summit of Cooperatives of the Americas and the work of Redacoop.
The XXXVIII Ordinary and Commemorative Assembly of the 60th anniversary of the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (Parlatino) approved a model law on food cooperatives.
The document states that agri-food cooperatives are a type of legally constituted cooperative company, which pursues the objective of common use by its members of all means aimed at facilitating or developing the economic activity of obtaining food and agricultural products.
Likewise, these cooperatives and other entities in the sector will seek to incorporate technological tools into their production, commercial and administrative processes to improve their competitiveness, efficiency and sustainability.
“Cooperatives have contributed to the development of countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region for decades. They are representative organizations of the social and solidarity economy, which from their origins and philosophy are in full harmony with sustainable development and its three pillars: economic, social and environmental. They participate in various sectors of activity, both in rural and urban contexts, with the agri-food sector being one of particular importance,” the project states.
Latin American and Caribbean parliamentarians also approved laws on Artificial Intelligence (AI), the promotion of agroecology, parental responsibility in family legislation, and the prevention, punishment and eradication of racism and racial discrimination.
Transformation of food systems
“Cooperatives can play a central role in creating ethical and sustainable value chains that are more resilient, as well as in transforming food systems,” the bill said.
The document also highlights that “cooperatives are exercising real leadership in rebuilding the economies of the Latin American and Caribbean region in the face of the current situation and contributing significantly to sustainable and inclusive development.”
Along these lines, he cites the Final Declaration of the 6th Summit of Cooperatives of the Americas, held in Paraguay in October 2022, in which cooperatives were invited to “promote the Sustainable Development Agenda and its specific applications in terms of access to environmental information, creation of sustainable food systems and decent work to mitigate the effects of climate change.”
Consultations and technical input
The project also includes the work of the Network of Agricultural Cooperatives of the Americas (Redacoop), the Commission on Cooperative Law and the Network of Parliamentarians for Cooperativism in the Americas, among other regional bodies that interacted with FAO in 2022.
This was a consultation process carried out by this United Nations organization, through its Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean and its Legal Office, and the result of which was provided to Parlatino as part of its technical cooperation alliance towards this Model Law on Agri-Food Cooperatives in Latin America and the Caribbean.
