Nuru Nigeria Recognizes International Cooperative Day

When Farmers Build Peace: Inside Nuru Nigeria’s International Cooperative Day 2026

Across four local government areas in northeastern Nigeria, nearly 2,750 community members gathered to celebrate what they have built together and to remind each other why cooperation still matters.

Cooperatives as a Foundation for Peace

Every year, on the first Saturday of July, the world pauses to celebrate the cooperative movement. This year, that day fell on Saturday, July 4, and it arrived carrying a theme that felt like a challenge: “Cooperatives for a Peaceful World.” Nuru Nigeria, with the support of Aspire Coronation Trust (ACT) Foundation, brought local communities together to mark the day. The event was a celebration, a reckoning, and rooted in the real work of building resilient, locally-owned cooperatives.

“Cooperatives for a Peaceful World”  is a timely message. In a season when conflict, inequality, and eroding trust dominate the headlines, the cooperative model offers something quietly radical. Cooperative agribusinesses provide a way for people to come together despite their differences, as they share ownership and build something that belongs to everyone. In northeastern Nigeria, where conflict has frequently tested local communities, this idea is not abstract. Every week, regardless of ongoing local challenges, workers come together in farmer organizations (FOs) across Michika, Gombi, Hong, and Toungo, to continue growing their businesses and planning for a hope-filled future.

Local Leaders Drive Change

The event was attended by farmers, association members, district heads, and village heads filling the farmer organization centers. Attendees used the time to reflect on their shared progress since their cooperatives were founded.

Between the speeches and the shared meals, members sat down for open conversations about their journeys: the wins they were proud of, the obstacles they were still struggling with, and the practical steps they wanted to take next. The event also included an interactive quiz to test members’ grasp of cooperative principles, their own activities, and the mission behind Nuru Nigeria’s and the ACT Foundation’s work. It turned learning into a game and reinforced a sense of ownership in the process. 

Cooperative members meet with Nuru Nigeria staff

Recognitions and Awards

Some of the most powerful moments came when cooperatives were recognized for their dedication. One farmer organization took home a cash award for the best loan repayment record of 2025. The FO leaders promptly reinvested the money by establishing a lending program from their revolving fund, allowing members to access affordable credit for farming and daily life.

Representatives from FOs in Hong, Gombi, and Tela Bala presented lessons learned and successes their organizations have ultimately achieved:

• In Hong, one farmer organization began earning income from its nutrition demonstration plots by selling the excess after family consumption needs were met. With this income, the organization successfully connected electricity to its FO center, transforming it into a genuine hub for meetings and cooperative activities.
• In Gombi, one cooperative added an additional revenue source to its business by building a phone-charging center with existing funds from cooperative activities. This charging facility now generates weekly income, strengthening its capital base enough to offer soft loans to members for farm inputs.
• In Tela Bala, three different FOs have successfully channelled their funds into soft loans, helping members buy seeds and farming supplies when they need them most.
• One women’s FO shared how their organization has recently grown and celebrated a 100% loan repayment rate – a reflection of both collective trust and discipline. This organizational milestone is also an important sign of the business’s future sustainability. 

Women farmers display harvests

These self-sustaining enterprises, owned and run by the very people they serve, are actively adapting to the needs of their members and their communities. They are exemplary examples of cooperatives working exactly as they should – tailoring services, support, and revenue opportunities to address local needs.

Calls for Peace, Unity, and the Next Generation’s Involvement

The day’s theme kept resurfacing in the discussions of the FO members. In Gombi and Hong, a session on what cooperatives are and why they matter turned into a rallying call for unity, as youths were urged not to shy away from leadership, but to step forward and shape the cooperatives they will one day inherit. Other FO members announced that their cooperative would only thrive if they could achieve peaceful coexistence among themselves and with the wider community. Event attendees repeatedly discussed the need for working together to both grow their businesses and to cultivate lasting peace in their communities. 

The Honest Part: Challenges We’re Not Hiding From

To promote ongoing learning and opportunities for future growth, the event also provided space for FO members to candidly communicate about the challenges that prevent their businesses from thriving. There were honest and thoughtful conversations about holding cooperative leadership accountable, effectively utilizing equipment that can generate income, and ensuring loan repayment to support a revolving fund for each organization.  Attendees also discussed how to navigate challenges that many cooperatives face at some point during their growth, such as low turnout at meetings, gaps in financial accountability, and consistent loan repayment to support revolving funds. Naming these problems out loud is one example of how cooperative businesses can positively work together. It is how a movement built on shared ownership stays honest with itself.  Key takeaways from this session included: 

• Strong leadership commitment is non-negotiable.
• Income-generating assets are highly valuable, but only when used consistently and efficiently. 
• Loan repayment keeps the whole system alive. 
• Unity among leaders is the foundation of the entire business.
• Celebrating achievements genuinely motivates people to do better.

Nuru Nigeria is working alongside these cooperatives to support their ongoing growth as maturing businesses through periodic performance reviews, clear plans for maintaining shared assets, and continuous capacity-building on financial management for members and leaders alike.

Building on International Cooperative Day 2026 

International Cooperative Day 2026 was a reflection of all the effort the FO members have poured into transforming their communities on their own terms while continuing to learn each day. As these organizations grow, they continue to inspire others. Communities not yet registered as FOs attended the event as well and asked for opportunities to join, eager to become part of something they see working.

The event created a ripple effect after the day’s activities concluded. One FO, inspired by the event, immediately rented farmland to grow soybeans with the intention of building their business’s financial base. Others have found opportunities to reinvest in the infrastructure that keeps their income streams alive, such as replacing and adding solar batteries so their phone-charging businesses can become more sustainable.

Cooperatives for a peaceful world is not a distant ideal in Michika, Gombi, Hong, and Toungo. It is a movement thriving today, as a group of neighbours rent land together, lend each other seed money, and refuse to let their differences stand in the way of a shared future. With Nuru’s support, this is what peace looks like, as it is built from the ground up.