Recent, the second physical mobility of the Erasmus+ project "Good Governance Practices in Agricultural Cooperatives - GGPAC," project number 2021-1-RO01KA220-VET-000025577, took place with the participation of 40 cooperative managers from Romania, Greece, Estonia, and France.

The learning, teaching, and training activities were hosted by Rando Värnik and Taavi Kiisk at the Estonian University of Life Sciences (EMU). The other three partners from the aforementioned countries were also present: Constantine Iliopoulos, Jean de BALATHIER, and Florentin BERCU.

The learning, teaching, and training sessions covered the following topics:

• Basic principles of successful cooperatives in Estonia.
• Organization, governance, and sustainable management of cooperatives.
• Financial management and strategies of agricultural cooperatives.
• Methods and tools for understanding and addressing organizational challenges faced by agricultural cooperatives.
• Strategic planning within a cooperative: roles of the general assembly, the board of directors, and leadership.
• Performance measurement of agricultural cooperatives.
• Financing, capitalization, and implementation of strategies within agricultural cooperatives.
• Making food production climate-friendly with the help of eAgronomics.
• Annual steps taken by the Kevili cooperative to improve efficiency and make investments.
• Financing collective investments of agricultural cooperatives in Estonia.
• Evaluation and measures for improving the efficiency of agricultural cooperatives.

To learn from practical experiences, the 40 managers visited the following:

• Laeva Põld Agricultural Cooperative: The cooperative's members work on approximately 24,000 hectares of land, one-third of which is dedicated to organic agriculture. The cooperative has its own grain dryer, which also provides services to third parties.
• KEVILI Grain Terminal and Golden Fields Factory Hay Processing Plant: The cooperative was established in 2005 and consists of 144 farmers. Cooperative members cultivate an area of approximately 80,000 hectares. In addition to covering operational costs and owned investments, cooperative members contribute about 120 euros per hectare for collective investments through the cooperative. Each year, the cooperative organizes 12-14 training sessions for its members. Cooperative members collectively own storage and processing facilities, which are the largest grain terminals in Estonia, established by farmers. In addition to modern equipment and storage spaces, cooperative members have been trained in cultivating alfalfa and established a feed factory in 2017.
• Simuna Potato Farm and TALUKARTUL Potato Cooperative: TALUKARTUL is the largest potato producer in Estonia, accounting for 25% of national production. The cooperative harvests approximately 3,000 tons of potatoes each autumn, selling them both on the local market and exporting to destinations in Europe and beyond.
• Polli Horticultural Research Center: Experts provided an overview of the Estonian market, crops, and strategic investment opportunities, as well as potential collaboration on various projects.

The mobility concluded with a conference on "Trust Relationships in Economy and Society: What Benefits Do Cooperatives Bring?" Representatives from important organizations in Estonia, Denmark, and Romania spoke about building trust relationships, facilitating the development of agricultural cooperatives, and the impressions and expectations of young farmers regarding cooperatives.

Through this project, the National Union of Romanian Cooperative Organizations in Agriculture and Food (U.N.C.S.V.) aims to support its member agricultural cooperative managers in their activities, promote good governance practices within agricultural cooperatives, and enhance their competencies through training and the exchange of innovative multidisciplinary practices.