An agricultural cooperative is a member-owned and democratically controlled organization established by agricultural producers to collectively manage economic activities, provide services, and improve members’ access to resources, markets, and agricultural inputs. It is based on voluntary membership, member participation, and the distribution of economic benefits among members, with governance structures in which decision-making rights are generally linked to membership rather than capital ownership alone [1]. Unlike investor-owned agricultural enterprises, cooperatives are organized primarily to serve the economic interests of their members through collective ownership, democratic governance, and coordinated economic activities [2]. Agricultural cooperatives may operate in areas such as input procurement, production coordination, processing, marketing, credit provision, and other agricultural services that support members’ farming activities [3]. Within agricultural economics and policy contexts, agricultural cooperatives represent institutional arrangements that coordinate farmers’ resources, reduce transaction constraints, and facilitate participation in agricultural markets and value chains [4].
- agricultural cooperatives
- collective action
- farmer organizations
- agricultural marke
Agricultural Economics and Policy • General Agricultural and Biological Sciences • Agricultural and Biological Sciences • Life Sciences
References
- International Cooperative Alliance (ICA). 1995. Statement on the Cooperative Identity. International Cooperative Alliance.https://www.ica.coop/en/cooperatives/cooperative-identity
- Bijman, J., Muradian, R., & Cechin, A. 2011. Agricultural cooperatives and value chain coordination. In: Value Chains, Social Networks and Territorial Development in the Global Economy. Ashgate.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254834425_Agricultural_Cooperatives_and_Value_Chain_Coordination
- Staatz, J. M. 1987. The structural characteristics of farmer cooperatives and their behavioral consequences. In: Royer, J. S. (Ed.), Cooperative Theory: New Approaches. USDA Agricultural Cooperative Service. https://www.rd.usda.gov/sites/default/files/sr18.pdf
- Degnet Abebaw; Mekbib G. Haile; The impact of cooperatives on agricultural technology adoption: Empirical evidence from Ethiopia. Food Policy 2013, 38, 82-91, 10.1016/j.foodpol.2012.10.003.