2012 International Year of Cooperatives Features Land O'Lakes' IDEA
Land O'Lakes International Development recently launched the IDEA Cooperative-to-Cooperative Learning Series in Nairobi, Kenya in March 2012. The official website of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) for the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives featured a story about the Learning Series, which was distributed in its eDigest to 6,000 people and the world's top 300 cooperatives.
An IDEA to Help Dairy Co-operatives
Dairy co-operatives in developing countries have been given access to a learning network to strengthen competition.
Launched in Nairobi, Kenya, the International Dairy Enterprise Alliance (IDEA), which has been established to deliver the initiative, started the first 'Co-operative-to-Co-operative Learning Series' last month.
The Cooperative Development Program (CDP) is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and managed by Land O'Lakes International Development to provide information, resources and technology to help dairy co-operatives thrive in national and regional markets.
The learning series brings together industry thought leaders, co-operative managers and board members to share experiences. Over 40 participants attended the first session from a variety of co-operatives afar afield as Nicaragua, India and the United States; and despite the differing sizes they found similar problems existed around the world.
Rebecca Savoie, Practice Manager for the CDP, said: "The informal nature of the event created a space for connection. The stories that these high-level executives were telling about their business problems resonated profoundly with all participants. To read the rest of the article, click here.
The article is also available en español, here, and en français, here.
For more information on the USAID-funded Cooperative Development Program, click here.