The Ocepar System today launched the new cycle of strategic planning for cooperatives in Paraná, the Paraná Cooperative Plan (PRC), with a projected total sector revenue of R$ 300 billion per year by 2026. For 2030, the forecast is to reach revenue of R$500 billion annually. PRC300 comes in succession to PRC200, whose cycle ended at the end of 2023, with the state's cooperative sector surpassing the established target of earning R$200 billion per year. Last year, the state's 225 cooperatives across seven sectors (agriculture, consumption, credit, infrastructure, health, labor, production of goods and services, and transport) together earned more than R$200 billion. The launch of PRC300 took place at the end of the Forum of Presidents of Cooperatives of Paraná, with the presence of governor Carlos Massa Ratinho Junior, at the headquarters of Ocepar, in Curitiba.
“It is not an Ocepar plan. It’s a plan for cooperatives in Paraná”, said the president of Sistema Ocepar, José Roberto Ricken. He explained that the structuring of PRC300 and PRC500, as happened in previous cycles, had the participation of all cooperatives, with meetings held at regional centers. “More than 500 people participated directly in defining the challenges and pillars of the plan. In addition to cooperative presidents, we listened to company presidents and leaders to create a consistent plan. It is work that began at the Forum of Cooperative Presidents, held in July 2023. In March of this year, it was discussed in the Ocepar pre-assemblies and approved at the general assembly in April”, informed Ricken.
“It is a joy to participate in this event to celebrate R$200 billion in revenue and I am very happy to see this new target of R$300 billion for 2026. If they continue at the same volume and speed of growth, this result could come sooner”, declared Governor Ratinho Junior. He added that “the state government is determined to consolidate Paraná as the world's supermarket and, for this, the participation of cooperatives is fundamental”. According to him, “the cooperatives in Paraná set an example for Brazil, it is up to us to contribute to a good environment. To this end, we are seeking partnerships to improve connectivity in the field, investing in energy and infrastructure,” he informed.
The governor thanked the cooperatives for helping Paraná develop and preparing the interior cities so that the workforce can be there. “We are going to cause an urban exodus in large centers, making people want to return to live in the countryside and small towns”, declared Ratinho Junior.
Like previous cycles, PRC300 is based on the five foundations of cooperativism – economic, education, cooperation, innovation and socio-environmental. And its pillars are institutional representation, business strengthening, strategic alliances, succession and governance and professionalization. There are 12 strategic themes and 28 projects. The five foundations and 12 strategic themes were defined with the participation of cooperative directors and the definition of the 28 projects was carried out jointly by cooperative executives.
The president of Ocepar informed that in the new cycle the Political Education program, which was launched in the previous cycle, will be continued. Without party affiliation, the initiative seeks to raise awareness among the cooperative community about the importance of politics and conscious voting for candidates who are sensitive to the causes of cooperativism. “We are going to advance this work and create a political intelligence nucleus”, he announced.
One of the PRC300 projects is related to the search for certification, especially for agricultural production and rural properties. “If in PRC200 political education was the highlight, in PRC300 certification will be the 'icing on the cake'”, declared Ricken when speaking to governor Ratinho Junior at the launch of the plan. “To do this, we have to form partnerships, let’s do it together”, he pointed out, adding that there is already an understanding with the Regional Engineering and Agronomy Council (Crea) to be a partner in the certification process. “We will also need government bodies”, he stressed.
According to Ricken, the objective is to build a certification protocol, encourage good practices throughout the production chain and recognize and value the initiatives already implemented by producers on their properties. “Many things have already been done, we just need to show them”, he pointed out. Other PRC300 projects are related to new forms of financing, expansion of agro-industries, training programs for cooperative executives, cooperative self-management, research alliances, agricultural health, infrastructure modernization, among others.
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