PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Cooperative Development Activity 4

Advancing cooperatives to improve their enabling environment, capacity and resources
2018 – 2024

The USAID Cooperative Development Activity 4 (CD4) is strengthening the enabling environment for food processing cooperatives in Lebanon, with previous work in Malawi and Rwanda. CD4 is building and strengthening cooperative systems, collaboration, research, learning, and dissemination. Amidst Lebanon’s ongoing economic crisis, the activity focuses on improving cooperatives’ business performance and self-reliance through customized technical support and in-kind grants. CD4’s approach prioritizes youth engagement in this long-standing sector: it conducts youth awareness sessions and internship programs to ensure inclusion of young people, a critical component for sustainable economic growth. CD4 leverages Venture37’s decades of international agriculture development knowledge and combines it with more than a century of cooperative business experience from its affiliate, Land, O’Lakes, Inc. The activity’s learnings are disseminated locally and internationally through a cooperative learning platform, information exchange, and advocacy efforts.

CD4 is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development's Cooperative Development Program (CDP). Venture37 is an implementer of USAID's global CDP, which strengthens cooperatives and credit unions globally to improve the social, economic, and environmental conditions of local communities.

PROJECT FOCUS AREAS

1. Improving Enabling Environment

To engage cooperative networks and strengthen the enabling environment, CD4 is strengthening apex organizations and the activity’s cooperative learning platform.

2. Enhancing Cooperative Business Performance

CD4 carefully assesses organizations’ existing capacities to provide tailored technical assistance to each cooperative that it supports.

3. Advancing Development Community's Support for Cooperatives

The activity is developing a locally defined learning agenda to guide research, learning, and dissemination through local and global channels.

COUNTRY CONTEXT

Lebanon

In Lebanon, the cooperative sector re-gained its role as a major social and economic player in the country’s communities. However, it is still facing major challenges that hinders its development, especially in rural areas. If provided adequate support, the cooperative sector can play an instrumental role in sustaining livelihoods, jobs. and incomes of rural communities.