Empowering agricultural cooperatives and helping in the sustainable development of their businesses are goals of the BASF Cooperate Program. The initiative will be presented during the National Meeting of Agricultural Cooperatives – ENCA, held on June 4th and 5th in Campinas (SP).
According to BASF's Market Access Manager, Gustavo Bastos Alves, the company and the cooperatives have the same purpose, which is to work to contribute to the legacy of Brazilian agriculture. “The result of this partnership is the generation and distribution of value in the chain by increasing the productivity and profitability of farmers”, explains Alves.
One of the actions that is part of the Cooperar Program is Incoop, which brings together representatives of 35 agricultural cooperatives. The inaugural class of the first group was attended by the president of the Organization of Brazilian Cooperatives, Márcio Lopes de Freitas.
“Incoop was very well structured. The course has a consistent agenda that will provide gains for participants, with the opportunity to form networks to exchange experiences. Brazilian cooperativism is on a good path of development and maturity as a business model”, says Márcio Lopes de Freitas.
Incoop is training developed for managers of agricultural cooperatives. In six modules, participants take classes with experts and undertake technical visits. There are more than 60 students coming from cooperatives in seven states. Some of the content covered in the first module were: Intercooperation, Governance and Sustainable Administration.
The first Incoop classes took place on the 14th, 15th and 16th of May in São Paulo (SP). The class also visited IBM headquarters. Meetings must take place every three months in alternating cities.
The Financial Administrative Superintendent of Cooperativa Cotrijal (RS), Marcelo Ivan Schwalbert, highlights the importance of one of the topics covered at the meeting. “We are working hard on family succession. In class, I realized that succession is a continuous process and not an isolated event. The discussions on how to add more value to the cooperative member were very rich for my learning”, says Schwalbert.
Agricultural cooperativism has an important role in the economy, being responsible for 50% of the country's agricultural production. Agribusiness cooperatives generated a turnover of R$230 billion in 2018, with an estimated growth of up to 8% in 2019. There are approximately one million cooperative farmers in Brazil, in more than 1.500 cooperatives.
The BASF initiative was developed after mapping to identify the daily challenges for expanding the cooperative business model. "The Cooperar Program is available to all BASF partner cooperatives, which comprise more than 400 thousand members and 90 thousand employees. The project aims to guarantee the sustainability of the cooperative value chain, through training cooperative employees at different levels, addressing technical and management topics, increasing competitiveness and contributing to the construction of sustainable agriculture”, says Alves.
This and other topics will be part of the lecture BASF in Agriculture. Together for your legacy, by BASF's Brazil Marketing Director, Marcelo Batistela, during the National Meeting of Agricultural Cooperatives.
About BASF Lecture on agriculture, together for its legacy
Day: June 05
Time: 15:30
Speaker: Marcelo Batistela - Marketing Director Brazil at BASF
About the National Meeting of Agricultural Cooperatives
National Meeting of Agricultural Cooperatives.
June 04th and 05th, at the Royal Palm Hall, Campinas – SP.
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