Civitas Status
Project initiator
Period
May 2026 – May 2029
Budget
341.620 $
Funder
Partners:
Since 2012, through the CoopNet programme, Civitas Foundation and its partners have been supporting the development of agricultural cooperatives in Romania. In a context where farmer association had long carried a difficult image, shaped by the experiences of the communist past, the programme started from a simple yet fundamental need: to transform cooperation into a genuine tool for economic and community development.
Over the years, CoopNet has evolved alongside the sector. In the beginning, we tested facilitation models and supported the establishment of pilot cooperatives. We then trained community facilitators and helped replicate the model across several regions of the country. Through CoopNet 1.0 and CoopNet 2.0, the focus gradually shifted from establishing cooperatives to strengthening their professionalism, through legal tools, educational materials, management training, and peer-learning and exchange opportunities.
During the CoopNet 3.0 phase, we focused on strengthening existing cooperatives and improving their access to resources, markets, and public representation. The CoopNet network has grown to 30 member cooperatives, more than 100 cooperatives have benefited from the programme’s activities, and the coopnet.ro platform has become an open space for resources and information dedicated to the agricultural cooperative sector.
Why CoopNet 4.0?
Agricultural cooperatives in Romania have grown significantly, but the sector still needs stronger structures to operate autonomously and sustainably in the long term. Cooperative management is not yet formally recognised as a profession, some agricultural branches lack dedicated representative structures, and cooperation among cooperatives often remains fragmented along sectoral lines. Moreover, for cooperatives to have a stronger voice in dialogue with public authorities, there is a need for clear, evidence-based public policy proposals grounded in the real needs of farmers.
CoopNet 4.0 is designed as the next stage in the programme’s maturity. We aim to help the agricultural cooperative sector become more autonomous, better represented, and better equipped to generate economic and social impact in rural communities.
What do we aim to achieve?
Through CoopNet 4.0, we will work along five main directions:
Strengthening the CoopNet network, by increasing the number of member cooperatives, organising regular meetings and study visits, and developing a model through which members gradually contribute to the sustainability of the network.
Peer mentoring between cooperatives, enabling mature cooperatives to support those in the process of consolidation by sharing practical experience and tested approaches.
An impact-oriented entrepreneurship incubator, through which 10 cooperatives will receive training and mentoring to develop economically viable projects that also generate benefits for their communities.
Supporting the representation of underrepresented agricultural sectors, through meetings, initiative groups, and tools that can lay the groundwork for future sectoral unions.
Professionalising cooperative management, by developing an occupational standard for the position of Executive Director of an agricultural cooperative, in collaboration with agricultural universities and the National Qualifications Authority.
What do we want to sustain beyond the project?
We see CoopNet 4.0 as an important step in the transition of the cooperative sector towards greater autonomy. By the end of the project, we want the key functions and capacities developed over recent years to be taken over and sustained by the actors best placed to carry them forward: universities contributing to the training of cooperative managers, sectoral unions better representing the interests of the cooperative sector, and cooperatives supporting one another through the network, mentoring, and peer exchange.
Through this next stage, we aim to contribute to a more mature, professional, and forward-looking agricultural cooperative sector: one that is increasingly capable of shaping its own future. Our goal is for these cooperative structures to become not merely beneficiaries of externally funded projects, but autonomous organisations that are economically relevant and actively engaged in the development of Romania’s rural communities.
