The International Day of Cooperatives is celebrated on the first Saturday of July of each year. This year, it falls on July 3, under the theme Rebuild better together whereby cooperatives show how to face the COVID-19 crisis with solidarity and resilience.
On this occasion, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the General Directorate of Cooperatives at the Ministry of Agriculture publish a booklet entitled " Introduction to Cooperative associations in Lebanon" within the framework of the Canada-funded FAO project “Support to Women's Cooperatives and Associations in the Agri-food Sector in Lebanon".
In this context, throughout the year 2020, the Food and Agriculture Organization organized a series of training on the law of cooperatives in all Lebanese regions, which was attended by more than 600 participants mostly women.
The booklet " Introduction to Cooperative associations in Lebanon" was widely disseminated during these trainings together with copies of the Cooperatives Law text books.
The aim of this booklet is to present the most prominent features of the Lebanese cooperative legislation, by highlighting the principles of cooperatives, the cooperative objectives, beneficiaries and the role played on the economic and social levels.
The booklet defines cooperative associations and clarify some of the ambiguous concepts which misunderstanding usually leads to practical results that are similar but do not reach the cooperative objectives such as associations. Although the booklet does not address some of the organizational provisions, which the interested reader can find in the cooperative laws and regulations, it shows the stages and requirements for establishing cooperative associations and specify the conditions and administrative rules to be followed. These stages and requirements are a guarantee of the success of cooperative associations.
The booklet also addresses the direct and indirect objectives of establishing cooperatives and how to manage them by presenting the most prominent provisions that characterize their administrative and financial systems.
On the International Day of Cooperatives, the Director General of Cooperatives, Engineer Gloria Abou Zeid, stressed on the importance of cooperatives in facing economic crises and securing solutions to the social problems faced by societies in general and the Lebanese society in particular.
She said: "The development of the cooperative work and the advancement of the cooperative sector require basically the dissemination of a cooperative culture, the provision of capacity-building and the revival of the cooperative spirit, in addition to supporting the sector financially according to needs and feasibilities. This booklet was prepared as part of the support provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) through the project: Support to women’s cooperatives and associations in the agri-food sector of Lebanon, funded by the Government of Canada and implemented with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Directorate General of Cooperatives. The project is promoting the cooperative sector, with our full support. “
Engineer Abou Zeid then added: "The booklet aims to draw the basic outlines of the concept of cooperative work by highlighting its principles and basic legal provisions and distinguishing it from similar concepts such as purely social work for associations of public interest and purely commercial work for commercial companies."
From his side, FAO Representative in Lebanon Dr. Maurice Saade said: “FAO recognizes the critical role of inclusive and effective cooperatives in supporting small producers and marginalized groups such as youth and women, and in empowering their members economically and socially to create sustainable employment opportunities in rural areas through models of sustainable activities”. Dr Saade added: “The principles of cooperation and the governance systems of cooperatives enable the cooperative members to overcome many challenges by providing profit opportunities for small farmers and women farmers through their sharing of assets and resources, improving their access to markets, enhancing their bargaining power and thus increasing the return on their production. Therefore, cooperatives are of interest to policy makers as organizations that create jobs, reduce rural exodus and improve social safety nets. "
Ambassador of Canada to Lebanon, Chantal Chastenay, said: “As we celebrate the International Day of Cooperatives, we cannot but be proud of the women led cooperatives in Lebanon. They have proven that women, together, are a pillar of the society. Through cooperatives, women, especially in rural areas, fulfill their potential, support their family’s livelihood, and maintain sustainability in the face of the current challenging situation.”
