My.COOP - Managing your agricultural cooperative: Training of Trainers
Photo © ITCILO
Online
My.COOP - Managing your agricultural cooperative: Training of Trainers
28 September–11 December 2026
Introduction to the course
My.COOP is a training package and programme on the management of agricultural cooperatives. It was designed for existing and potential managers of agricultural cooperatives, and for members involved in managerial tasks, to help them improve the management of their cooperatives and better cater for member satisfaction, business opportunities and social concerns. When managed well, agricultural cooperatives advance food security, sustainable use of natural resources, the elimination of child labour and inclusive employment creation. My.COOP is delivered by certified trainers; this programme is how you become one. This Training of Trainers prepares you to deliver the My.COOP package yourself. Over 80 hours across three phases - self-guided learning, live webinars with microteaching, and coached delivery of your own workshop - you build both the content mastery and the facilitation skills needed to run participatory My.COOP training in your own context. Successful completion leads to an ILO Certificate of "My.COOP Trainer". My.COOP is the result of a collaborative effort involving cooperative development agencies, cooperative colleges and universities, cooperative and producer organizations, knowledge institutes and UN agencies. Initiated by the ILO Cooperative Facility for Africa and the ILO's Cooperative Branch, the partnership involves Agriterra, FAO, the International Training Centre of the ILO, the Royal Tropical Institute and Wageningen University & Research, among others.
Who attends this course?
This Training of Trainers is aimed at people who will deliver My.COOP training to others: - Management trainers, vocational trainers and facilitators working with agricultural cooperatives - Staff of cooperative colleges and universities, cooperative development agencies, apex federations and producer organizations responsible for member training - Extension officers with a training mandate, and independent consultants working on cooperative development Participants are expected to be already familiar with the operations and challenges of agricultural cooperatives. This programme does not teach cooperative management - it prepares you to train others in it, using the My.COOP package. It is therefore not designed for managers or board members seeking to strengthen their own cooperative, nor for people setting up a cooperative for the first time. Places are limited. Applicants are selected on qualifications and on a first-come, first-served basis.
What topics does this course cover?
The My.COOP package consists of 4 modules:
- Module 1 — Basics of agricultural cooperatives: basics, challenges for cooperatives, cooperative governance, management, capital formation and finance
- Module 2 — Cooperative service provision: what are the needs of the members, what services to provide, who will provide the service
- Module 3 — Supply of farm inputs: procurement of inputs, storage and stock management, selling the service
- Module 4 — Cooperative marketing: marketing services, strategic marketing, certification
What will I learn?
The My.COOP distance learning Training of Trainers (TOT) programme assumes that its participants are already familiar with the operations and challenges of agricultural cooperatives. The objective of the distance learning programme is thus NOT to train professionals who want to acquire knowledge regarding cooperatives. The TOT will rather allow cooperative experts to acquire the necessary competencies to design and deliver an interactive and participatory face-to-face training using the My.COOP training modules (focus on training methods).
What will I be able to do?
After having completed the Training of Trainers, participants will be able to:
- Plan and implement a My.COOP training from an initial learning needs assessment until the final evaluation of the My.COOP training workshop;
- Adapt and design contextualized My.COOP training activities using a broad range of participatory methodologies;
- Explain My.COOP content to the target audience taking adult learning principles into account;
- Apply facilitation techniques to deliver the training in a face-to-face setting.
Training phases and certification
The ToT requires an overall commitment of 80 hours of active study and participation, spread over three phases:
- Phase 1 — Self-guided learning (28 September – 12 October 2026, 10 hours): the 4 modules with a final test
- Phase 2 — Webinar-based (12 October – 6 November 2026, 30 hours): theory and practice, including 2 microteachings delivered by participants
- Phase 3 — Online coaching (9 November – 11 December 2026, 40 hours): participants design an action plan and deliver one My.COOP training
Successful participation in Phases 1 and 2 results in a Certificate of Participation from the International Training Centre of the ILO. Successful completion of Phase 3 results in an ILO Certificate of "My.COOP Trainer".
Fees, group rates and scholarships
Tuition is €1,275, covering all three phases, including the coached delivery of your own My.COOP training in Phase 3.
Organisations sending three or more participants qualify for a reduced rate. My.COOP workshops are participatory and normally co-facilitated, and Phase 3 asks you to design and deliver a real training — both are considerably easier with a colleague who has been through the same programme. Certifying a team also means the capacity stays with the organisation rather than with one individual. Contact us to discuss group enrolment.
A limited number of partial scholarships are available for practitioners from developing countries, with priority for national cooperative federations and apex organisations, cooperative colleges and universities, producer organisations and government cooperative departments. To be considered, indicate your interest in the funding section of the application form. Scholarship applications close 4 September 2026 and decisions are communicated by 10 September 2026.
Applications for the programme close 18 September 2026.