Food Safety and Value Chain Coordination in the Context of a Transition Economy: The Role of Agricultural Cooperatives

Vladislav Valentinov,Drini Imami,Engjell Skreli

doi:10.5334/ijc.1039

Abstract

In Albania development gaps in the area of food safety are calling for stronger vertical coordination within the agrifood value chains. The paper explores the possibility of vertical coordination being strengthened through the development of agricultural cooperatives and informal farmer groups. In two reported case studies, these organizations have been shown to be called into life by the need to advance vertical coordination. Moreover, the case studies reveal that downstream agribusiness agents, who normally oppose farmers’ countervailing power, promote, support, and even initiate cooperatives and farmer groups, in order to implement food safety standards. The emerging cooperation among farmers not only enhances their participation in the value chain but also generates mutual trust.

Highlights

Food safety is one of the major concerns of consumers both in developed and developing countries, with the latter facing more serious challenges (Jaffee 2001; Zhllima et al, 2015)
The aim of the present paper is to explore the role of agricultural cooperatives, in the light of their relations with downstream agribusiness actors, in the adoption of the food safety standards in Albania
The authors conclude that “unlike any other type of enterprise, cooperatives have a particular ability to foster the development of social trust. This result supports the view that the development of cooperative enterprises... may play a crucial role in the diffusion of trust and in the accumulation of social capital”. These findings suggest that, from the standpoint of international experience, the conjecture about the capacity of the Albanian agricultural cooperatives to forge new social capital does not seem to be off the mark

Summary

Introduction

Food safety is one of the major concerns of consumers both in developed and developing countries, with the latter facing more serious challenges (Jaffee 2001; Zhllima et al, 2015). Lack of compliance with food safety standards can be viewed as a negative externality which includes the costs in lost production, medical care, ill-health of other members of society, and surveillance and inspection (Henson & Traill, 1993). Public agencies are responsible for ensuring food safety enforcement, their capacity to do so in developing or transition countries is limited, due to weak institutional frameworks and high levels of corruption. The country has suffered from political conflicts, high corruption, weak law enforcement and weak institutions. A number of development gaps have been manifested in the area of food safety (Zhllima et al, 2015)

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Conclusion