Heifer and ICA-AP Launch ‘Seeding Strength’ Campaign to Empower Farmer Cooperatives Across Asia

10 July 2025, New Delhi: Heifer International Asia and the International Cooperative Alliance – Asia and Pacific (ICA-AP) jointly launched Seeding Strength: Empowering Farmer Cooperatives, a regional campaign spotlighting the pivotal role of agricultural cooperatives in building resilient rural economies. The virtual launch event brought together more than 170 participants, including development leaders, cooperative experts, and farmer representatives from across Asia.

The campaign—part of the ICA-EU Partnership’s Phase 2—coincides with the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives 2025 and focuses on empowering cooperatives in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Cambodia. Its goal: to highlight how farmer-led cooperatives can enhance food systems, lift communities out of poverty, and promote sustainable, people-centered development.

Neena Joshi, Senior Vice President for Asia Programs at Heifer International, emphasized the importance of collective agency. “When farmers unite through cooperatives, they gain bargaining power, attract investment, and build resilient enterprises that nourish people and the planet,” she said.

Balasubramanian Iyer, Regional Director, ICA-AP, said cooperatives deliver on the “triple bottom line” of people, planet, and prosperity. “These institutions are rooted in self-help and solidarity. They embed social purpose into business and are essential to inclusive, sustainable growth,” he noted.

Aziz Arya, FAO’s Regional Policy and Program Officer, called for greater cross-sector collaboration to strengthen farmer cooperatives. “They are key to achieving SDG 1 and 2—No Poverty and Zero Hunger—but require sustained investment to fully unlock their potential,” he added.

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