Cotabato City, Philippines — Cooperative leaders from across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will convene on June 29–30, 2026, in Cotabato City for the BARMMCoops Leadership Conference, themed “BARMM Cooperatives Advancing Integrated Diversified Organic Family Farming Systems (IDOFFS) and Inclusive Public Food Procurement for Food Security and Sustainable Livelihoods.”
The conference will bring together representatives of 15 agricultural cooperatives, the Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahan ng mga Magsasaka (PAKISAMA), the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), and the Philippine Family Farmers’ Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry Cooperatives Federation (AgriCOOPh), along with development partners and other stakeholders committed to strengthening cooperative-led rural development.
The event marks an important milestone in sustaining and scaling the gains achieved through PAKISAMA’s Integrated Diversified Organic Family Farming System (IDOFFS) initiative, which was supported by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal
Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through GIZ. Over the past several years, the initiative has helped farming communities and cooperatives transition toward diversified, climate-resilient, and agroecological farming systems while
strengthening cooperative governance, enterprise development, and market access.
The conference will provide a platform for cooperative leaders to share experiences, assess accomplishments and challenges, and identify strategic directions for the next phase of cooperative and agricultural development. A key focus will be the strengthening of the emerging BARMM Cooperative Federation (BARMMCoops) as a unified platform for cooperative collaboration, enterprise development, policy advocacy, and market engagement.
Participants will also explore opportunities to expand agricultural cooperatives’ participation in public food procurement programs. By linking smallholder farmers and their organizations to institutional markets such as school feeding programs, hospitals, government feeding initiatives, and social protection programs, cooperatives can help improve food security while creating stable, inclusive market opportunities for family farmers.
The conference will further provide an opportunity to discuss potential future collaborations with development partners, including the Rockefeller Foundation and BMZ through GIZ, aimed at scaling agroecology and sustainable agriculture, strengthening cooperative enterprises, expanding access to institutional and public procurement markets, and advancing climate-resilient food systems in BARMM and beyond.
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