Resource Mobilisation, Utilisation and Wellbeing of Social and Solidarity Groups In The Assin Fosu Municipality, Ghana.

Abstract

Purpose: The study focused on farm-based cooperatives in the Assin Fosu municipality and examined resource mobilisation as well as the factors that determine resource utilisation and the wellbeing of social and solidarity organisations.
 Design/Methodology/Approach: 180 respondents from six registered farm-based cooperatives in the Assin Fosu Municipality were chosen for the study using a mixed research design and a multi-stage sample method that included purposive, proportional, and simple random sampling procedures. The Focus Group comprised cooperative chairpersons and was further expanded to include the Municipal Co-operative Officer, who was specifically chosen as a key informant. In addition to narratives drawn from qualitative data, descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to examine the data.
 Research Implications/Limitations: The limitation of this study is the measurement of farm size and income which were based on the mental construct of farmers because most of the cooperative members did not keep records. This tended to distort the reality related to farm size and income which were included in the construct of wellbeing and collective resource mobilisation.
 Findings: We discovered that, except for cooperatives based on cocoa, resource mobilisation was low across all the cooperatives. The study found that the mobilisation of resources and the collective purchase of agricultural equipment and supplies, which reduced production costs, were the driving forces behind resource utilisation. The main wellbeing indicators were longer membership durations and group resource mobilisation and utilisation.
 Practical Implications: The findings of the study will help contribute to the management of social and solidarity groups in Ghana and broaden the understanding of how this development approach affects livelihoods. It is also hoped that the findings will contribute to the mitigation of the cost of neoliberal policies by providing a path to wellbeing at the micro and informal levels through group resource mobilisation and utilisation.
 Social Implications: Social and Solidarity organisations serve as an alternative to economic organisations that are based on neoliberal principles. This is because the latter favours the dominant few in developing economies culminating in widespread poverty, inequalities, and a decline in wellbeing. To maximise wellbeing, cooperatives should intensify resource mobilisation, and utilisation whilst maintaining their membership.
 Originality/Value: The novelty of this paper lies in its contribution to the literature on social and solidarity economies. It provides information on the missing link on how farm-based cooperatives mobilise and utilise resources for the wellbeing of their members.