International Cooperative Alliance in collaboration with ICA Asia and Pacific (ICA-AP) launched a “Meet and Greet” program virtually on Tuesday, with an objective to strengthen the voice of the global cooperative movement.
Some of the guests including ICA-AP President Dr. Chandrapal Singh Yadav, IFFCO Joint General Manager (Co-operative Development) Santosh Kumar Shukla, ICA-AP Regional Director Balu Iyer, IFFDC’s S P Singh, ICA’s Director of Membership Gretchen Hacquard and others were present.
In his remarks, Yadav said, “Meet and Greet is being organized to present the work of ICA, its diverse sectors and regions, to unite, promote and develop cooperatives worldwide”, he said.
“The newly approved Articles of Association now allow primary cooperatives to become members of the ICA along with large cooperative enterprises, national federations, and government departments. I hope today’s webinar has motivated you to consider joining the ICA network”, he added.
“The presentations by Mr. Santosh Kumar Shukla from the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative (IFFCO), India and Ms. Sylvia Paraguya from the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO), the Philippines would have given you an idea about the benefits of being an ICA member. IFFCO and NATCCO are doing significant work in their own right and also promoting cooperation among cooperatives across region”, said Yadav.
As the President of the ICA Asia and Pacific, I appreciate the work the regional office is doing to advance the cooperative movement and ensure that all stakeholders are kept informed and involved. The regional policy events such as the Ministers’ Conference and Registrars’ Forums have played a pivotal role in shaping cooperative legislations in the region, he underlined.
Yadav further said, “The ICA through its sectors and regions is playing an important role in promoting and improving the visibility of cooperatives. I am happy to share that 2025 will be celebrated as the International Year of Cooperatives and in November 2024 we will have the kick-off events and international conference in New Delhi”, he informed.
“There will be more Meet and Greet events in the coming months and I urge you to join these and enhance your understanding of the ICA and its work”, Yadav underlined.
In his speech, IFFCO’s Santosh Shukla informed the participants, “IFFCO was established on 3rd November 1967 with 57 member cooperatives which has grown to 35000 member cooperatives and has 50 million farmers as members”, he said.
“IFFCO operates within the cooperative framework primarily in the agricultural sector in India. Our ultimate aim is to serve the farmers and for that IFFCO has 21 JV’s and subsidiaries in different sectors as per the needs of the farming community”, Shukla added.
The ICA as a member-based organization has 305 members from 103 countries and in the Asia Pacific region we have 108 members from 29 countries.
