Coopanema

What Coopanema does

Coopanema (Cooperativa Mista dos Agricultores Familiares do Vale do Ipanema) is a private Brazilian agricultural cooperative founded in 1997 and headquartered in Águas Belas, Pernambuco. It organizes family farmers — primarily settled agrarian reform families — across the Agreste Meridional region, Vale do Ipanema, and parts of Alagoas into a collective dairy supply chain. The cooperative's core offering is the organization of the milk production chain through community-level collective cooling infrastructure (insulated cooling tanks with shelters) installed across 15+ communities including Tanquinhas, Macambira, Barriguda, Cristo Rei, and Barra Nova, enabling members to bypass intermediary buyers (atravessadores) and achieve better producer prices. Coopanema handles approximately 12,000 liters of milk per day out of the regional total of 60,000 liters/day and serves 644 settled families directly, with broader regional price-leveling benefits reaching 2,000+ families.

The cooperative's business model is non-traditional technology or SaaS — it operates as a multi-service agricultural cooperative providing collective milk cooling and storage, direct market access, technical training, and facilitation of government programs (Pronaf credit, INCRA settlement support, Petrobras biodiesel participation). Revenue capture mechanics are not publicly disclosed but appear to combine member service fees, margins on pooled milk commercialization, and value-added product processing. The cooperative was, as of 2011, planning a 10,000 liters/day Mini Usina de Leite processing facility and acquisition of two distribution trucks to vertically integrate into processed dairy and owned distribution. It also runs annual community events such as the VI Fair of Family Agriculture (250+ exhibitors, 60,000+ visitors) and participates in alternative income programs including a Petrobras castor bean biodiesel consortium.

Core technology is operational rather than digital: physical cooling infrastructure, planned processing facility, distribution fleet, and an institutional ecosystem spanning Banco do Brasil, BNB, INCRA, MDA, CREDITAG, UNICAFES, FETAPE, ASA Meridional, and municipal/state government partners. Coopanema is governed by an elected board led by founder/president Nitalmo Leite da Silva (who also served as municipal Secretary of Rural Development, 2009–2010), with Vice President José Wellington Alves Rodrigues, Administrative and Financial Director Ivanilda Paz dos Santos, and Commercialization Director José Cícero da Silva.

Name

Coopanema

Legal name

Cooperativa Mista dos Agricultores Familiares do Vale do Ipanema

Website

https://coopanema.wordpress.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Coopanema is a Brazilian agricultural cooperative (founded 1997, Águas Belas, Pernambuco) that organizes family farmers across the Agreste Meridional region into a collective dairy supply chain, operating community-level milk cooling infrastructure across 15+ communities and serving 644 settled families with 12,000 liters of milk processed per day.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Cooperative Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Animal Production (115210)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYCRAHALAA

Member-Owned Food Cooperatives

Consumer Products & Retail/Grocery & Food Retail/Food Co-ops & Community Grocery

Keywords

• Agricultural cooperative
• Dairy supply chain
• Family farming
• Milk production
• Rural cooperative services

Headquarters

HQ city

Águas Belas

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Coopanema is a mixed agricultural cooperative that organizes family farmers in the Agreste Meridional region of Pernambuco, Brazil, into collective production and commercialization networks. Its core service is organizing the dairy supply chain — collecting milk from members through community-level cooling tanks, aggregating volume, and selling directly to buyers — alongside providing technical assistance, training, credit-program facilitation (e.g., Pronaf), and processing of agricultural products such as sweet preserves and cashew derivatives. The cooperative eliminates intermediaries (atravessadores) by enabling direct farm-to-consumer sales, achieving better producer prices and regional price-leveling effects.

Product overview

Coopanema (Cooperativa Mista dos Agricultores Familiares do Vale do Ipanema) is a family farmer cooperative based in Águas Belas, Pernambuco, Brazil. Founded in 1997, it operates as a multi-service agricultural cooperative rather than a technology product company. Its core offerings center on organizing the milk production chain for family farmers through collective cooling infrastructure, providing agricultural technical assistance, and facilitating market access. The cooperative is developing a Mini Usina de Leite (milk processing facility) with 10,000 liters/day capacity. Services include livestock support (caprinoculture, apiculture, ovinoculture), agricultural product processing (sweet preserves, cashew nuts), and participation in public policy programs including biodiesel (castor oil consortium with Petrobras). The cooperative connects approximately 644 settled families across settlement projects in the Agreste Meridional region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Milk Production Chain Organization (Organização da Cadeia Produtiva do Leite) Service organizing family farmers into a cooperative dairy production network: the cooperative provides collective milk cooling infrastructure in rural communities and direct market access that bypasses intermediaries (atravessadores), enabling better producer prices and regional price-leveling effects. Designed for small-scale family farmers and agrarian-reform settlers in the Agreste Meridional region.
• Agricultural Family Support Services (Technical Assistance and Training) Technical assistance, training, and rural-development support services for member family farmers covering livestock management (goat, sheep, cattle, poultry), beekeeping, agricultural inputs, and capacity building, delivered in coordination with institutional partners such as ITEP. Targeted at small-scale family farmers in the Agreste Meridional region.
• Agricultural Product Processing (Beneficiamento de Produtos Agrícolas) Processing and value-addition services for member-produced agricultural goods, including sweet preserves (doces), cashew nuts, and other derivatives, for sale at local markets and agricultural fairs such as the VI Feira da Agricultura Familiar in Águas Belas. Aimed at small-scale family farmers seeking higher-margin commercialization of their produce.

Quantifiable outcome

• Milk price leveling achieved throughout the region, benefiting both cooperative members and non-member farmers who benefited from forced price competition against intermediaries
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core, supporting and major.

• Cooperativa Agropecuária e Industrial de Arapiraca LTDA (CAPIAL)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 August 2011Alagoas agricultural cooperative visited Coopanema to learn from their organizational model and explore participation in castor bean consortium project for Petrobrás biodiesel program.
• INCRA (Instituto Nacional de Colonização e Reforma Agrária)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal agrarian reform agency that supports settlement programs and provides credit modalities for settled families. INCRA collaborates with Coopanema on land regularization and settlement support for family farmers in the region.
• MDA (Ministério do Desenvolvimento Agrário)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinistry of Agrarian Development provides policy support and agricultural programs for family farmers. Coopanema receives support through MDA programs for rural housing construction, cistern building, and various credit lines.
• Municipality of Águas BelascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal municipal government led by Mayor Genivaldo Menezes Delgado that supports agricultural fairs, infrastructure projects, and rural development initiatives in partnership with Coopanema.
• PetrobrásminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrazilian state oil company running a biodiesel program that includes a castor bean consortium in which Coopanema farmers participate for alternative income generation.
• ITEP (Instituto de Tecnologia de Pernambuco)supportingTechnology or IntegrationPernambuco technology institute providing technical training and capacity building for Coopanema members as part of the cooperative's technical assistance program.
• ASA Meridional (Articulação do Semi-Árido)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional articulation of the Semi-Arid movement working on sustainable development and water access programs. Coopanema is bringing a regional ASA headquarters to Águas Belas.
• FETAPE (Federação dos Trabalhadores na Agricultura de Pernambuco)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState federation of agricultural workers representing rural unions across Pernambuco, closely allied with Coopanema in organizing family farmers.
• Sindicato dos Trabalhadores RuraiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRural workers union in Águas Belas that collaborates with Coopanema on organizing family farmers and implementing agricultural programs.
• SESCOOP/AL (Serviço de Aprendizagem do Cooperativismo de Alagoas)supportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCooperativism learning service in Alagoas that facilitated the visit of CAPIAL to Coopanema for knowledge sharing and experience exchange.
• UNICAFEScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational union of family agriculture cooperatives. Coopanema is a member, participating in national-level coordination and advocacy for family farming.
• State Government of PernambucomajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides support for agricultural fairs, water infrastructure projects (Adutora do Agreste), and rural development programs benefiting Coopanema and member farmers.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Frimesa: Brazilian dairy and meat cooperative (Central Frimesa) producing UHT milk, dairy derivatives, and processed proteins through member cooperatives in the South. Comparable cooperative manufacturing model that could serve as a national benchmark for Coopanema's planned mini dairy.
• Coopavel: Large Paraná-based agricultural cooperative integrating crop production, animal husbandry, agro-industry, and rural retail for tens of thousands of member families. Direct peer in the family-farmer cooperative model across multiple commodities.
• Cooperativa Agropecuária e Industrial de Arapiraca LTDA (CAPIAL): Alagoas-based agricultural and industrial cooperative that visited Coopanema in 2011 to learn from its organizational model and explore participation in a Petrobras castor-bean biodiesel consortium. Highly comparable in geography, scale, and smallholder-aggregation focus.
• Castrolanda: Brazilian dairy cooperative with hundreds of member farmers and significant on-farm processing capacity. Directly comparable in being a member-owned dairy cooperative aggregating small and mid-sized producers and adding processing value.
• Cooxupé: Brazilian coffee-grower cooperative with strong export footprint and member-owned processing. Comparable as a member-owned agricultural cooperative aggregating smallholders and bypassing intermediaries—a key value-prop match with Coopanema.

Broad incumbents

• Aurora Coop: One of Brazil's largest food cooperatives (dairy, meat, processed foods) with nationwide branded distribution. Broader incumbent offering dairy processing and member services at scale that Coopanema's planned mini dairy would be a fraction of.

Others

• UNICAFES (União Nacional das Cooperativas da Agricultura Familiar e Economia Solidária): National federation to which Coopanema belongs; represents family-farming cooperatives in national policy and advocacy. Not a competitor but a structural peer that defines the network Coopanema operates within.
• Cresol: Brazilian credit cooperative serving family farmers and rural SMEs through financial inclusion products. Comparable in cooperative structure serving Coopanema's same member base, and a potential financial-services peer for CREDITAG's role in Águas Belas.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coopanema

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Coopanema