THE IMPORTANCE OF SPANISH COOPERATIVES
Their history and their contribution to olive oil production
Their journey has not been easy and now they face a new challenge: they have enormous power as agents of change and must become the protagonists of the rural development that is needed. On the other hand, and no less important, is the link between cooperativism and sustainability. The United Nations pointed out the importance of the Social and Solidarity Economy, indicating that it could play a key role in achieving the 2030 Agenda and especially links cooperativism, as the main family of the Social Economy, in the alignment with the SDGs (Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy, 2014 and 2015). Cooperative societies are governed by values and principles that facilitate alignment with the 2030 agenda, since many agree and, for this very reason, it is asserted that cooperatives since their birth in 1884 already incorporated sustainability into their DNA (Mozas, 2019).
26
GLOBAL RETAIL BRANDS / OCTOBER 2023
Photo by Josemiguelsangar - stock.adobe.com
Many people are unaware of the history and achievements of agricultural cooperatives in the olive sector. The cooperatives have long been the backbone of the olive growing industry in rural areas. They exercise a social function, are managed democratically, support the population linked to the territory, maintain a latent power in the market of origin as they dominate production, and are becoming increasingly important in the marketing of olive oils.
