We are thrilled to announce that the Federazione Trentina della Cooperazione (FTC) has recently joined Euromontana! FTC becomes our 64th member, further expanding our network in the Alps. Based in Trento, Italy, FTC is the only representative organisation of the cooperative movement in the province of Trento. Founded in 1895, it brings together 450 cooperatives and 290000 cooperative members in the province.

By joining Euromontana, FTC expects to find common interests with other stakeholders, to discuss actions and possible solutions for mountain areas and to cooperate through European funded projects.

The importance of the cooperative movement in the province of Trento

FTC operates in an Alpine mountain area and 70% of the province of Trento lies above 1,000 metres. In this area, cooperatives play a key role in providing social and commercial services and improving the quality of life of local communities.

In the province, agri-food cooperatives are particularly important, with about 70% of total production produced within cooperatives. The cooperative model has helped to mitigate the negative effects of depopulation trends in the area and to ensure the economic viability of small farmers, particularly livestock farmers. One of FTC’s tasks is to support these agri-food cooperatives in meeting the challenges of international markets, generational renewal and fair remuneration, among others.

In other sectors, cooperatives often provide services that would otherwise not be available in these areas, and are therefore crucial to the attractiveness of the territory. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, but also in the context of climate change projections, the FTC expects mountain areas to become the centers of new migratory movements, with the arrival of newcomers from other areas. With this in mind, the challenge for FTC is to support the emergence of new services such as multi-service businesses or co-working spaces developed through the cooperative model.

FTC’s mission and expertise

FTC’s mission is to contribute to the social and economic improvement of people, communities and their territories through the coordinated development of cooperative culture and entrepreneurship. To support the cooperative model, FTC provides assistance, guidance, supervision and political representation to cooperatives in 5 main sectors: agriculture, retail, credit, labour & services and social & housing.

Since 2000, FTC has been accredited by the Autonomous Province of Trento as the only private organisation to act as a support structure for social enterprises: it carries out social reporting, inter-cooperative projects, research and studies. FTC’s expertise and activities include social impact measurement to monitor and report on the social and sustainability impact of cooperatives, as well as education and training activities for schools and businesses. Past activities have included the creation of inCooperation, a platform connecting local communities and cooperatives, where people can share ideas and demands for their area. Another example of digital innovation is Indaco, a platform that facilitates e-commerce activities for local agri-food products.

The FTC works closely with the local government, playing a key role in the definition and implementation of local policies and promoting multi-level governance, contributing to the development of the provincial research and innovation strategy for smart specialisation.

In addition, FTC has expertise in European projects in the fields of rural development, social economy and housing, social inclusion and innovation, community resilience and research and innovation applied to disadvantaged areas. In the future, FTC is interested in developing a project aimed at defining a common model of diffuse Alpine rural livestock farming that could respond to the needs of different European mountain areas.

Euromontana warmly welcomes FTC into the European mountain family, and we look forward to a long-lasting collaboration to make mountain economies and communities more prosperous and resilient!