The key to the development of agricultural cooperatives in Romania from the perspective of those who run them

Abstract

Cooperatives are known worldwide as important institutional commitments to overcome the constraints faced by small farmers in developing countries. We conducted an in-depth investigation in order to identify the reasons behind the underdevelopment of agricultural cooperatives in Romania, as well as the solutions that the representatives of cooperatives see, starting from the premise that they are the main connoisseurs of this activity, knowing the strengths, but especially the weaknesses of this activity, by administering a questionnaire-based survey as the main research tool. Clearly, cooperative representatives are aware of the socio-economic implications and role of cooperatives, with average values closer to “total agreement”, especially in terms of contribution to food security.