Strong rural organizations like producer groups and cooperatives are crucial to hunger and poverty reduction. They allow small producers to play a greater role in meeting growing food demand on local, national and international markets, while improving their own economic, social and political opportunities. This thinking connects a series of case studies found in a new publication by the FAO and the IFAD. The publication, Good practices in building innovative rural institutions to increase food security, presents thirty-five cases of successful institutional innovations that have empowered small-scale producers, and contributed to food security in different regions in the world.