2025 International Day for Cooperative: Stakeholders solicit for more support for Cooperative Societies
By Amaka Isikala/Ebele Iyke Odili
The Ministry of Industry, Anambra State has joined its counterparts Worldwide to celebrate the International Day for Cooperatives with stakeholders soliciting for more support of the Cooperative Societies.
The celebration was done through the Ministry's Department of Cooperative Development.
The event which showcased the potentials, skills and various agricultural products of cooperatives societies from all the 21 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state was held at the Jerome Udoji Secretariat, Awka.
The event is celebrated yearly on the first Saturday of July; this year's theme is
'Export Market; Opportunities for Cooperative Farmers, trends and prospects aimed at enhancing and increasing the awakening of the Cooperative world wide'.
The celebration is an initiative to promote cooperatives societies and their values, raise awareness on the contributions of Cooperatives societies to the society and to encourage support for cooperative development.
The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) chooses a theme every year to highlight the importance of Cooperatives in addressing global challenges.
The Commissioner for Industry, Mr. Christian Udechukwu while declaring the event open reiterated the state government's resolve to promote and support Small and Medium Scale Enterprise (SME's) through Anambra State Business Agency (ASBA).
"ASBA provides development advisory services, business incubation finding support and entrepreneurship training.and its goal is to empower small businesses across the state."
Mr. Udechukwu commended Gov. Chukwuma Soludo for the establishment of the Solution Innovation District (SID) in a bid to provide training for start-up businesses and to promote innovation led growth and establishing Anambra as a centre for entrepreneurship and technology.
The Director of Cooperatives, Mrs. Nwabugo Okonkwo in an address expressed that cooperative is the global wheel of economic development that carries everyone along at ensuring a sustained economic growth.
According to her, emphasis is being laid continually to see to it that being in the membership of a cooperative society is not an avenue for siphoning government's fund but rather a means of assisting one another towards achieving collective goal and interest.
"Cooperative is a voluntary association of persons who have pulled resources together for a common goal therefore any cooperative without any business in focus has no recognition".
"This gathering is an avenue for cooperators to interact and align themselves for value added services to themselves and to the community at large and for the intending members an opportunity to redefine their intent and wake up to the call for joint efforts towards achieving grassroot development."
Mrs. Okonkwo noted that cooperative as a business entity is faced with lots of challenges ranging from financial incapacitation, marketing channel threats, mismanagement of funds, personal services and indirect ministry placement.
The President Cooperative Federation, Anambra State (COFAS), Dr. Ogochukwu Soludo in an address explained that the Cooperative Day was a Flagship moment within the United Nations International year of Cooperatives, to unveil the action-plan of COFAS towards transforming and repositioning the Cooperative landscape of the state.
"The Clarion call is for us all to join hands and forces in the quest to strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees within the Cooperative sector.
"We must harness and deploy the immense potentials of Cooperative societies in the sustainable development master-plan."
According to him, prior to the March 2025 inauguration of the current Board, COFAS had been largely ineffective in delivering on its statutory mandate of uniting,coordinating and protecting the interests of 18,500 registered Cooperative societies in the state.
He added that the Cooperative sector in the state has never had the fortune of being effectively represented at the National and International levels noting that COFAS had been largely docile and moribund since 1991.
"The task before us now is to repair the bridges and rebuild the Cooperative structure and position it to deliver on its mandate as the current Board is willing and determined to lead the way by providing credible, principled, purposeful, value-based and responsible leadership that will revive, revitalize and reposition COFAS for efficiency service delivery."
The exhibition of the various agricultural produce which ranged from cassava roots, palm oil, garri, okro, pepper, potatoes and processed ginger and green teas was the climax of the occasion.
More photos below.
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