SDG series – Cooperative contributions to SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Progress towards the United Nations’ goal of ending hunger is currently off track. As of 2024, nearly 673 million people experienced hunger, while 2.3 billion faced food insecurity. These challenges are intensified by conflict, climate shocks, and volatile food prices.

Cooperatives offer a practical solution to these issues. Because they are member-owned, they prioritise community wellbeing and long-term stability over short-term profit. They help fix food systems by shortening supply chains and ensuring food remains accessible during economic or environmental crises.

The Cooperative Difference

• Empowering Women: Women make up 41% of the global agrifood workforce but face significant pay gaps and structural barriers. Cooperatives provide a platform for women to lead, gain fairer market terms, and improve household nutrition.
• Supporting Small-scale Producers: By working together, small farmers can purchase seeds and tools at lower costs, access better technology, and share expensive infrastructure like cold storage.
• Reducing Waste: Cooperatives are leaders in circular food practices, turning potential food waste into community support or animal feed.

European Success Stories

• European Union: Agri-cooperatives represent 22 million farmers, ensuring food security for 500 million people while helping producers withstand price volatility.
• Poland: Following advocacy by the cooperative sector, new laws allow near-expiration food to be redirected from shops to social welfare centres and food banks.
• Germany: Solidarity-based models link farmers directly to consumers. This ensures predictable incomes for producers and affordable fresh food for lower-income households.
• Portugal: Local cooperatives support over 100 producers through grocery networks and workshops on sustainable gardening and composting.

Recommendations

To better support these efforts, governments and international bodies should:

1. Integrate cooperatives into national food security plans and public procurement.
2. Modernise legal frameworks to help cooperatives operate more effectively across the entire food value chain.
3. Provide flexible finance for essential infrastructure like logistics and digital systems.
4. Invest in women and youth to ensure the future of sustainable farming.

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This article has been co-funded by the European Union. The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of  Cooperatives Europe and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.