A senior United Nations official has urged Fiji and other Pacific nations to give far greater recognition to cooperatives, warning their contributions to local economies are routinely overlooked in national policies and official statistics. Lee Everts, Deputy Head of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Sub‑Regional Office for the Pacific, said stronger, more adaptive policy frameworks are needed to anchor cooperatives in mainstream economic planning and development strategies.
Everts told reporters that although cooperatives remain a strong presence in communities and a driver of economic activity, they are often missing from development frameworks and national data systems. “We have to institutionalize and anchor cooperatives in mainstream economic policy. We have to see them in development policies, whether it’s SMMP, whether it’s your big corporate policies, whether it’s your national statistics, because even in the national statistics, a lot of times it’s not captured properly,” she said, emphasising the need for legislation and statistical systems to evolve as markets change.
Responding to the UN’s call, Fiji’s Minister for Commerce and Business Development Esrom Immanuel confirmed the coalition government is actively working to revitalise the cooperative movement. Immanuel said that when the current government took office the sector required substantial support and that programmes are underway to strengthen and rebuild cooperative structures across the country. He highlighted a long‑term expansion in the sector, noting the number of cooperatives in Fiji has increased by 94 percent over the past four decades.
The renewed spotlight on cooperatives comes amid broader conversations about inclusive economic development in the Pacific, where cooperatives often provide services, market access and financial support to farmers, fishers and small business owners. Advocates argue that without formal recognition in policy and statistics, the economic footprint of cooperatives remains underestimated and their access to technical assistance, finance and regulatory protections is constrained.
Everts’ comments underline two practical gaps: policy integration and data capture. Incorporating cooperatives into national development plans and corporate or small and medium enterprise strategies would, she said, make it easier to direct support where it is needed and to measure outcomes. Better statistical classification would also allow governments to report the sector’s contributions to employment, production and household incomes more accurately.
Fiji’s government has signalled a willingness to act, but specific legislative or budgetary measures have not yet been detailed publicly. Stakeholders say potential next steps could include updating cooperative law, improving registration and reporting systems, and tailoring capacity‑building and finance programmes to the cooperative model. Officials and development partners will likely need to reconcile these technical reforms with on‑the‑ground priorities voiced by cooperative members.
The UN’s intervention and the ministerial confirmation represent the latest development in efforts to bolster community‑based economic structures in the Pacific. With cooperatives growing in number but still seeking stronger policy support, attention now turns to how quickly governments and donors can translate recommendations into concrete reforms that recognise and leverage cooperatives’ role in national economies.
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