Members Of Agricultural Cooperatives Research Articles

Efficiency of agricultural cooperative members in Indonesia

The food supply's stability is dependent on agricultural productivity, which, in turn, depends on the efficient allocation of production factors. This research analyzes the efficiency levels of rice farmers and compares them between cooperative members and non-members. This study quantifies efficiency using the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) method and compares the results using the propensity score matching (PSM) method, which addresses potential selectivity bias resulting from the decision to join a cooperative. The study utilizes cross-sectional data from the Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS) of the Republic of Indonesia, encompassing a sample size of 68,204 farmers. The analysis reveals that the majority of farmers operate within an efficiency range of 70-90 percent. Cooperative members exhibit higher efficiency levels than non-members, with a 2.1 percent increase during the wet season and a 3.1 percent increase during the dry season. Researchers employ an alternative method, coarsened exact matching (CEM), to ensure robustness, yielding results similar to the PSM model. This research provides evidence that cooperatives have the potential to significantly enhance agricultural efficiency. The findings underscore the importance of developing and supporting cooperatives to enhance the overall welfare of farmers.

Food insecurity, coping strategies, and resilience of agricultural cooperative members during COVID-19 in West Africa

BackgroundLockdown measures of COVID-19 have had different repercussions on the well-being of households in West Africa depending on their resilience capacity. This study compares the dynamic of households’ food insecurity during COVID-19 pandemic according to their membership in different types of agricultural cooperatives in four West African countries, namely Ghana, Mali, Ivory Coast, and Senegal.MethodologyWe used data collected from 1270 members of agricultural cooperatives and regression analyses, to understand the link between the nature of their cooperatives and the food insecurity dynamic of their household, while controlling for other sociodemographic characteristics. Cooperative were categorized either “active” or “poorly/not active” depending on their capacity to conduct initiatives that address the needs of their members, to maintain communication between leaders and members, the participation of members to decisions, and their possession of a good understanding of business management. Food insecurity is measured using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) and the Coping Strategy Index (CSI). Respondents were asked to answer questions related to their food security status for the period before and during the pandemic.ResultsThe COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected respondents' food security status. These effects varied according to the severity of sanitary measures implemented and to the dynamism of cooperatives. Households of poorly or not active cooperatives have experienced more food insecurity in Ivory Coast and Senegal than those who were members of active cooperatives; in Ghana the effects were significant but similar in both types of cooperatives. Members of both cooperatives in Mali appear to have been less affected than members in other countries. Furthermore, households of poorly/not active cooperatives have used more severe coping strategies in Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Senegal during the pandemic.ConclusionsStrong collaboration and support provided by cooperatives can contribute to increase the resilience capacity of their members to shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact of membership in agricultural cooperatives on yield of smallholder tomato farmers in Nigeria

Tomatoes are one of the most significant fruit and vegetable crops in Nigeria. This could be ascribed to the fact that it helps many farmers support their way of life and improve their financial status. However, due to ineffective production management techniques, restrictions on the supply of pesticides and fungicides, access to information, market fluctuations, and crop shelf life, the yield of tomatoes is low. There is a need for powerful institutions like agricultural cooperatives to increase tomato yield. Agricultural cooperatives have been promoted in Nigeria as an agricultural development strategy that will increase crop yield and farmer income. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of membership in agricultural cooperatives on the yields of smallholder tomato farmers in rural Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure is used to collect data for the study. The Endogenous Treatment Regression model was used to analyze the data. According to the findings of the first regression (Probit regression), age, years of formal education, main occupation, years of farming experience, farm size, years of experience in tomato farming, aged dependents, distance to market, access to credit service and access to extension service have a positive and significant impact on the membership of farmers in the agricultural cooperative. The results of the endogenous treatment regression model reveal marital status, age, years of formal education, years of informal education, main occupation, years of farming experience, farm size, years of tomato farming, aged dependents, distance to market, access to credit services, cost of processing, access to extension service and agricultural cooperative membership are all statistically significant variables influencing tomato yield. According to the ATE estimate, the average farmer would produce 9.159 times more when he/she joined an agricultural cooperative. The conditional treatment effect (ATT), which assesses the impact of membership in agricultural cooperatives on tomato yield, was correspondingly approximately 9.447 and statistically significant at 1%. As a result, the typical farmer who is a member of an agricultural cooperative would produce a yield that is 9.447 times more than it would be if he/she was not a member of an agricultural cooperative. The study found that membership in agricultural cooperatives has a positive impact on tomato yield among smallholder farmers in rural Nigeria in contrast to what it would have been in the absence of being a member of agricultural cooperatives after adjusting for both observable and unobserved factors. Tomatoes farmers must be encouraged to join an agricultural cooperative to boost their yield.

Does cooperative membership stabilize farm income volatility? Evidence from the pig sector in China

PurposeFarm income in the agricultural sector is susceptible to natural and market risks. A large body of literature has studied the effects of cooperative membership on household welfare, technical efficiency, productivity and production behavior, yet little has been known about the impact of cooperative membership on farm income volatility. This paper aims to fill this research gap by investigating the relationship between cooperative membership and farm income volatility of Chinese pig farmers and drawing policy implications.Design/methodology/approachThis paper examines the effect of cooperative membership on farm income volatility, using data from a two-round survey of pig farmers in China. The authors employ an endogenous switching regression model to address the selection bias issues associated with unobserved factors simultaneously affecting farmers' participation in agricultural cooperatives and income earning activities.FindingsUsing household panel from a two-round survey of 193 pig farmers in China, this analysis highlights two key findings: (1) agricultural cooperative membership has significant and positive effect on farm income stability and (2) the impact of cooperative membership on farm income stability varies with production scale.Originality/valueThis research makes two contributions to the literature. First, this study contributes to the scant literature exploring the relationship between agricultural cooperatives and farm income stability. Second, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that explores such relationship in a livestock sector. The pig sector in China and around the developing world has been increasingly challenged by multifaceted risks (e.g. price fluctuations, epidemic diseases, environmental regulations), and understanding the role of agricultural cooperatives in farm income stability of pig farmers is of great practical and policy significance.

Perceived Effectiveness of Agricultural Cooperatives by Smallholder Farmers: Evidence from a Micro-Level Survey in North-Eastern South Africa

The importance of agricultural cooperatives and other community-based organizations in facilitating sustainable agricultural development in South Africa cannot be downplayed. The aim of the study was to analyse smallholder farmers’ perception of the effectiveness of agricultural cooperatives in rendering support services to their enterprise in Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. A multistage sampling procedure was employed to elicit data from a sample of 120 smallholder farmers drawn from 150 farmers—members who were currently active members of agricultural cooperatives. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data that were analysed using descriptive statistics. Multiple linear regression was used to determine the socio-economic and institutional factors influencing the member farmers’ perception of cooperative effectiveness. The findings revealed that although agricultural cooperatives in the area rendered some level of support services to their members, the majority of the respondents perceived their cooperative as ineffective in rendering some key support services to them that could potentially improve their livelihoods. The results of inferential analysis indicate that factors such as farm size, level of education, household size, farming experience, major crop grown/animal reared, number of cooperative members, support services received index, and satisfaction of leadership processes were significant socioeconomic and institutional factors that influence respondent’s perception. The study recommended increased government public recognition and support for agricultural cooperatives development, increased resource base through more access to grant and donations, and improved linkages between cooperatives and extension agencies as a means of improving the effectiveness of agricultural cooperatives in the area.

Does agricultural cooperative membership impact poverty level of cocoa farmers in southwestern Nigeria?

ABSTRACT The study examined the impact of agricultural cooperatives on poverty depth of cocoa farmers’ poverty levels in Southwestern Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used in selecting 362 cocoa farmers in the study area. The results of a two-step control function quasi-maximum likelihood revealed that age, household size, farm size, and farming experience positively influenced the poverty depth while cooperative membership negatively influenced the depth of poverty among cocoa farmers. This study concludes that cooperative organizations have the potential to reduce poverty effectively, provided their values and principles are respected. Hence, an advocate for continued policy incentives targeted at encouraging farmers to form as well as participate in agricultural cooperatives.

The Awareness and Adoption of Environmentally Sustainable Practices by Agricultural Cooperative Members in Zambia

As the world population is continuously growing, agricultural practices should be done sustainably to achieve food security, nutrition, and economic success. Due to the networking, economies of scale and improved access to information, collective actions and producers' cooperatives seem to be a good instrument for acquiring, sharing and promoting such practices. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to estimate the effect of cooperative membership on the awareness and adoption of environmentally sustainable practices. We purposively selected 210 members and 166 non-members of maize cooperatives in the Southern province of Zambia. To cater for both observed and unobserved bias in the study, we adopted the propensity score matching and endogenous treatment effect models. The study results confirm that cooperative membership positively influences the awareness and adoption of sustainable environmental practices used in the study but encourages the usage of synthetic fertilizers because of the government input subsidy.

Does agricultural cooperative membership influence off‐farm work decisions of farm couples?

AbstractMembership in agricultural cooperatives may influence intra‐household decisions regarding the division of household labor. However, the linkages between cooperative membership and labor allocation remain unexplored. To fill this gap, we examine the impact of cooperative membership on off‐farm work decisions of couples engaged in farming, using data collected from 595 banana farmers in China. The recursive bivariate probit model and endogenous‐treatment Poisson regression model are employed to address the self‐selection bias inherent in cooperative membership. The results show that cooperative membership increases the probability of participating in off‐farm work by 38% for husbands and 31% for wives. Having large households reduces the probability of husbands but increases that of wives working off‐farm. Cooperative membership is also associated with more time spent on off‐farm work and higher earnings for both husbands and wives. Our findings point to the potential of agricultural cooperatives to increase farm couples’ off‐farm employment, thus increasing household income and quality of life.

Yield effects of agricultural cooperative membership in developing countries: A meta‐analysis

AbstractThis study uses a meta‐analysis to synthesize the effects of agricultural cooperative membership on the yield of crops and livestock. It collects 158 estimated yield effects from 42 studies, covering 19 developing countries. Our analysis finds evidence that there exists positive publication bias in the empirical literature, confirming that researchers and journals have a preference to publish articles that report positive and significant results. After correcting for publication bias, we find that cooperative membership has a small‐sized and insignificant effect on the yield. The meta‐regression analysis reveals that variation in the reported yield effects can be largely explained by the study attributes such as the sample type (full sample vs. subsample), membership ratio, econometric approaches (instrumental‐variable based parametric approach, non‐parametric approach or ordinary least square regression), effect size types (average treatment effects on the treated, average treatment effects, or coefficient), agro‐product type (grain or others), and climate zones (tropical or non‐tropical).

Cooperation between agricultural еxtension services and cooperatives - the state and possibilities

One of the key links in the system of knowledge and information transfer in Serbian agriculture is the extension service, which acts as a mediator between scientific institutions and different user groups. Extension officers prefer to cooperate with already formed user groups, such as agricultural cooperatives, because they unite farmers with similar production and are convenient for group methods of extension work. This paper aims to examine the quality of cooperation between agricultural extension services and agricultural cooperatives in Serbia and to evaluate the views of farmers (cooperative members) on the success of this cooperation. For this research, a survey was conducted with 220 respondents, members of agricultural cooperatives. The analysis showed that over 80% of cooperative members cooperated with extension service, and that they were more satisfied with the quantity of extension services than with the quality. More than half of the respondents believe that extension services need to be adapted to the needs of cooperatives, and that the cooperatives should be given more attention in the media appearances of extension officers. This research provides an important insight into the form and specifics of cooperation between agricultural extension services and agricultural cooperatives, on the basis of which measures for their continuous improvement can be proposed.

Analyzing decision-making factors in the generational succession of rural youth

This paper analyzes the decision-making factors that influence the generational succession of young members or children of members of agricultural cooperatives in the grain, meat, and dairy segments in the southern region of Brazil. First, 25 factors that influence the process of generational succession, called decision-making factors, were identified through a literature review and dialogue with the cooperatives. Then, using the methodology adapted from Slack, Chambers and Johnston (2007), a sample of 308 young people between 18 and 30 years old evaluated the level of importance and performance of the decision-making factors indicated. In the respondents’ opinion, none of the 25 factors performed better than their importance, as all factors present the possibility of improvement. However, according to the evaluation methodology used in this paper, 20 factors (property size; access to technologies; access to media and information; labor availability; diversification of agricultural activities; income provided by agricultural activities; access to education; social interaction and number of people in the community; professional expectations; remuneration received by the youth; education; type of work performed; marriage; autonomy; family dialogue; encouragement and recognition; technical assistance; presence of the cooperative, union, and associations; and access to marketing) performed adequately and did not require improvements in any of the three cooperatives. On the other hand, five factors need improvement: leisure infrastructure; road infrastructure; social valorization; rural credit and public policies; and price, according to the grain cooperative; leisure infrastructure, road infrastructure, social valorization; and price, according to the dairy cooperative; and social valorization and price, according to meat cooperative. We concluded that a significant part of the factors (80 %) performed in an adequate way directly or indirectly in the three cooperatives. The youth of the three cooperatives indicated social valorization and price among the factors that need improvement. Thus, we highlight that agricultural cooperatives should seek to understand their role in the face of decision-making factors that need improvement and seek to improve them. • The young successors are mostly single and male. • Twenty-five decision-making factors were identified in the generational succession process. • None of the 25 decision-making factors performed better than its importance attributed by young people. • 80 % of the decision-making factors showed adequate performance. • Investments in improvements in technical assistance can generate positive impacts on young people and on the relationship with the cooperative.

Impact of New-Type Agricultural Cooperatives on Profitability of Rice Farms: Evidence from Vietnam’s Mekong River Delta

The major goal of this study is to examine the impact of agricultural cooperative membership on the net return on production cost (ROC). The data used for the study were gathered from 233 rice farmers in the central Mekong River Delta’s province of Hau Giang, Vietnam. Propensity score matching and two-step Heckman selection models were employed to account for possible selection bias stemming from systematically different observable and unobservable attributes between cooperative members and non-members. The findings reveal that cooperative membership has a positive and statistically significant impact on rice farmers’ ROC, suggesting that agricultural cooperatives could help increase the profitability of rice farms.

Factors affecting income generation among smallholder farmers with agricultural cooperative membership in Zambia

This study analysed the effects of cooperative member characteristics on income generation among smallholder farmers in Chibombo district of Central Zambia using logistic regression from a sample size of 398 co-operative members. The aim of the study was to analyze factors affecting income generation among small-holder famers with membership in agricultural cooperatives, and to identify factors that increase their income. Data were collected in May 2020 using a questionnaire. The empirical data indicated that income increased when there were increases in the cultivated area, primary education and cooperative membership period of 5–10 years but decreased with marriage, being widowed and a farming experience period of 5–10 years. The other factors had no significant effect. Thus, the study concludes that increasing cultivated area, duration of cooperative membership and attending at least primary education would better income generation among cooperative members.

Effect of Cooperative Membership on Alleviating Problems of Flood Victims in Anambra State (A Study of Selected Cooperative in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria)

The regular annual flooding that destroys farmer’s crops in the studied area necessitated this study to examine the effect of cooperative membership on alleviating problems of flood victims in Anambra state, Nigeria. The work is anchored on the theory of vulnerability as derived from the ideas of Martha Albertson Fineman (2008). The study adopted a survey research design and the study area was Ogbaru local government Area of Anambra state. A sample of 100 members of agricultural cooperatives were selected through random sampling. Questionnaire was employed to obtain data for the study. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and hypotheses were tested at a 0.05 level of significance, signifying a 95% level of confidence. Findings revealed that the significant factor accounting for differences in their alleviation of problems were proved by being member of cooperative. The rate of alleviation of problems of cooperative members was extremely higher than that of non-cooperative; cooperative had more stable measures of mitigating problems for the development of rural farmers. The hypotheses revealed that of 0.793 shows that 79.3% of variations in income is caused by severity of flooding. The T-value of 0.000 is significant at 5% level showing the strength of the model. Severity of flooding have coefficient of -0.892 and was very significant. It shows that when flooding increase by one unit, income will fall by 0.892. in the studied area. Sequel to this, it was concluded that Being member of a cooperative society was discovered to be a better alternative for alleviation of the problems of flood victims in the area. It was recommended among others that important to give flood victims important needed information and enlightenment as regards flood events and insurance (of crops, livestock, farmlands and properties

Effect of Agricultural Cooperative Membership on Willingness to Pay for Non-fatal Risk Reduction from COVID-19


 The recurring nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent discovery of the Omicron variant in Nigeria, coupled with concerns about the specific roles and contributions of social institutions in redressing the spread of the virus, prompted this study. Thus, the study determined the willingness to pay for health risk reduction from Corona Virus (COVID-19); estimated the value of statistical case (VSC) and ascertained the effects of cooperative membership on the willingness to pay (WTP) for COVID-19 morbidity health risk reduction. Multi-stage sampling technique was deployed in selecting 149 cooperative and 130 non-cooperative members for the study, in Edu and Patigi Local Government Areas of Kwara State, Nigeria. To reach its conclusion, descriptive statistics, Levene’s test, t-test, chi-square, Probit analysis, propensity score matching, WTP and the value of statistical case were employed for data analysis. The study revealed that the typical cooperative member is willing to pay N1,638 per farming season to decrease his or her chance of falling sick from COVID-19 or averting non-fatal cases of COVID-19 by 1 in 10,000. In addition, the propensity score matching (PSM) estimation indicated that agricultural cooperative societies had effect on members, with the average member willing to pay N561.32 per season higher than the non-members. Arising from these results, it becomes imperative to consider integrating cooperative societies as complementary instrument for the prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic. The estimated VSC further provides pecuniary basis and policy guidance for efficient allocation of resources for the mitigation and control of COVID-19.
 

Legal Issues of Agricultural Land Use by Owners and Workers

The study investigates the problems of compliance with the legislative requirements in the use of agricultural land in Ukraine, depending on who directly extracts useful properties from such land plots: employees of agricultural enterprises, or the owners of these lands – farmers, members of agricultural cooperatives, citizens who engaging in agricultural production activities individually. The article provides examples of the impact of the activities of workers and the labour of agricultural landowners on the state of land use, compliance with environmental safety requirements, deterioration, and improvement of the quality of land plots. Research of legal issues of targeted, rational, and efficient use of land plots, ensuring the requirements for the preservation of the natural environment, biological diversity and ecosystems contained in the study, provide an opportunity to draw certain conclusions, the essence of which comes down to the fact that the current state of legal relations concerning the use of land plots by employees and landowners needs to be reformed. This is conditioned upon the fact that employees are not motivated to improve the quality of land and its soils, comply with environmental safety requirements, and preserve biological diversity in ecosystems that include the corresponding land plots. Since the main motivation is to obtain a certain benefit, and sanctions for non-compliance with the requirements of legislation in the field of land protection are inefficient, the use of hired labour in agriculture is often described as a negligent and mindless attitude towards land use and ensuring environmental safety. But the owner or user of a land plot that uses it as a farmer, cooperative member, entrepreneur, etc., is motivated not only to make a profit at a given time, but also to improve its quality characteristics, ensure environmental safety, and preserve ecosystem biological diversity, since this is a factor in the stability of obtaining profits from agricultural activities performed on a certain site and in the future

Impacts of cooperative membership on banana yield and risk exposure: Insights from China

AbstractThe yield‐increasing effects of agricultural cooperative membership have been widely examined in the literature. However, so far, little is known about whether cooperative membership has the potential to reduce farmers’ exposure to production risk. We address this gap by estimating the impacts of cooperative membership on expected yield, yield variance (variability), and yield skewness (exposure to downside risk), using data collected from a survey of 626 banana farmers in China. We employ an endogenous switching regression model to address the selectivity bias issue. The empirical results show that cooperative membership increases banana yield by 3% and reduces the variance and downside risk exposure by 60% and 114%, respectively. The results are supported by robustness check estimates, using propensity score matching and inverse probability weighted regression adjustment models. Additional analysis reveals that the treatment effects of cooperative membership vary among members with different household and farm characteristics. Our findings suggest that agricultural cooperatives can be an effective institutional arrangement for reducing production risk and crop failure and point to the need for policies and programmes in developing cooperatives and increasing membership involvements of smallholder farmers.

Democratic Administration and Commitment of Members of Agricultural Cooperatives: A Case Study from a Prefecture in Greece

Cooperatives are democratic organizations, governed and controlled by their members, who are actively involved in their policy-making and decision-making process. The aim of this paper is to investigate the correlation between cooperative culture and the way that cooperatives are governed. To this end, a probability sampling method is used in the agricultural cooperatives of the Greek prefecture of Larissa, which is one of the most powerful and dynamic in the agricultural economy. The data collection was carried out to 100 members of agricultural cooperatives through the use of a closed-ended questionnaire. The findings highlighted that agricultural cooperatives are distinguished for their increased level of cooperative culture and commitment, provided that the conditions for the democratic governance of cooperatives are met. The role played by the level of education of the members of the agricultural cooperatives was also important, thus confirming the main purpose of the research, which was none other than to prove this correlation. Finally, this correlation can lead to the improvement of certain elements which contribute to the optimization of agricultural governance.

Does agricultural cooperative membership help reduce the overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides? Evidence from rural China.

The overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides (CFPs) has negatively impacted the environment and human health. It is an urgent issue that should be addressed. In this study, we investigate whether agricultural cooperatives can serve as an institutional arrangement that helps reduce the consumption of CFPs, using the data of 2012 family farms from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China. Various approaches, including instrumental variable-based two-stage residual inclusion approach (2SRI), endogenous switching probit (ESP) model, and endogenous switching regression (ESR) model, are utilized to help address the endogeneity issues of the cooperative membership variable. The results show that agricultural cooperative membership significantly increases the probability of reducing fertilizers and pesticides of the family farms and improves net return per yuan CFPs. The further analysis shows that agricultural cooperative production services reduced the usage of fertilizers and pesticides, while cooperatives marketing services only significantly lowered the use of pesticides. Our findings highlight the importance of promoting the development of agricultural cooperatives to support green agricultural production in China.

Does cooperative membership impact the yield and efficiency of smallholder farmers? Evidence from potato farmers in Mongolia

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of agricultural cooperative membership on potato production and technical efficiency.Design/methodology/approachA combination of propensity score matching technique and sample selection stochastic frontier framework that addresses potential selection bias due to observable and unobservable attributes is used to estimate the effect of participation between cooperative members and non-members. Using a stochastic meta-frontier approach, the technical efficiency of farmers was estimated and compared.FindingsThe empirical results show that the effect of participation in agricultural cooperatives is associated with increased yield and technical efficiency. A comparison of group-specific frontiers indicates that cooperative members perform better than non-members. Cooperative membership decisions is significantly associated with household and farm characteristics (e.g. education, participation in off-farm work, total farmland, distance to market and geographic location).Practical implicationsThe findings of this study demonstrate that cooperative organisations can be an important tool to enhance the productivity and efficiency of smallholder farmers. Successful cooperative models together with training programs designed to enlighten farmers on the importance and tangible benefits of collective action should be used to enlarge participation in cooperative organisations. In addition, governments and development agencies should implement targeted investment and capacity building programs related to irrigation management, gender-sensitive awareness and development of the internal institutional mechanisms in cooperatives for the transfer of knowledge and mutual learning so that all members benefit from cooperatives.Originality/valueDespite the pervasive evidence of the impact of cooperatives on productivity and technical efficiency in the Asian region, this study is probably the first attempt in the crop sector in Mongolia. It provides a rigorous empirical analysis of the impact of agricultural cooperative membership on potato production and technical efficiency through a counterfactual design.