The “Women and Cooperativism” project developed in 2021 and 2022 aimed to strengthen the communication and advocacy capacities of family farming organisations, advocating for the economic empowerment of women through association and cooperativism into the agendas of governments and international organisations, taking advantage of the opportunity of the United Nations Decade for Family Farming 2019-2028 implementation.

It was developed by the World Rural Forum and the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF), in close collaboration with six regional farming organisation members, representing different areas of Africa, Asia and the Americas: PROPAC, Central Africa (Plateforme Régionale des Organisations Paysannes d’Afrique Centrale); ESAFF, South and East Africa (Eastern and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmers’ Forum) ; REFACOF, Central and East Africa (Réseau des Femmes Africaines pour la gestion Communautaire des Forêts); PDRR, Central America (Programa de Diálogo Regional Rural); COPROFAM, South America (Confederación de Organizaciones de Productores Familiares del MERCOSUR); and AFA, Asia (Asian Farmers Association).

The project has given visibility to the work of rural women organised in co-operatives, providing them with recognition and support, boosting their confidence in the future and their self-esteem. The project also enhanced the work of the farming organisations that support them, and reinforced their capacity to communicate and advocate for cooperativism and rural women.