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Economic Growth and Cooperative Development

As a part of its economic growth strategy, CLUSA facilitates the building of strategic relationships between clients and private sector and government entities to ensure that vital support services are available and markets are fully captured even beyond the life of a particular program. The success of its business training and market interventions leads to many programs' employees continuing their work without CLUSA support through various channels. They establish local capacity building NGOs, provide consultative business support services, or become commercial agents and potentially equity partners for private sector enterprises who target the cooperatives, member-owned businesses, and other small enterprises.

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Principle Strategies
Description
Capacity Strengthening
CLUSA works hand-in-hand with cooperatives and its other clients to build their capacity to grow and manage their businesses, market services and products, develop pricing structures, access financing, and improve the efficiency and quality of production. The strategy assists businesses to develop a solid business model approach that looks beyond strict and short-term income generation activities to long-term, profitable business activities.
Agricultural Extension Services
 A pioneer of peer-to-peer learning in the agricultural sector, CLUSA uses its community mobilization expertise to identify, train, and support a core group of lead farmers who can then serve as model farmers and trainers to their peers. This strategy is highly effective at reaching groups, such as women and youth, who are normally excluded from traditional agricultural training programs. The strategy is also a ready conduit for disseminating HIV/AIDS prevention information and other cross-sectoral messages to the often remote farming population.
Contract Farming Management
 By strengthening farmer cooperatives, associations, and group businesses, CLUSA helps such groups leverage their collective bargaining power during contract negotiations with their market. The strategy also encompasses training in negotiating discounted prices on production inputs and creating effective distribution networks to lower producers' transaction costs.
Private Sector Linkages
 		 CLUSA's holistic economic development approach touches all points along the agricultural value chain by helping farmers to forge strategic partnerships that facilitate greater access to input supplies, technical know-how, and financial and other business services. Tapping its cross-sectoral experience, CLUSA also engages new partners and creates win-win business arrangements among farmers, suppliers, and consumers.
Advocacy
 CLUSA works cooperatives and small group businesses by assisting them to review and advocate for participatory and democratic lawmaking around cooperative laws and regulations. This work aims to ensure that the national and local laws guiding cooperatives and small group businesses are conducive to both the businesses' economic growth and the members' needs.