Agricultural Cooperatives Research Articles

Lenin’s Thought on Agricultural Cooperation and Its Practical Enlightenment

农业合作思想是马克思主义理论的重要组成部分之一，列宁将马克思恩格斯的农业合作化理论，同俄国具体实际相结合，促进马克思主义农业合作化思想的俄国本土化进程。列宁发展了马克思农业合作思想，指出农业合作的性质、方式、原则等内容，这也使列宁探索出一条适合俄国国情的社会主义农业发展道路，推进了俄国整体性发展。深入探究列宁农业合作思想中的立场、观点和方法，结合中国农民专业合作社发展情况，应当坚定人民立场、加强组织保障以及改革创新，以促进中国农民专业合作社高质量发展。

O Centro de Documentação e Arquivo da Reforma Agrária. Um precioso património documental a preservar e divulgar

The Agrarian Reform, a direct consequence of the Revolution of 25 April 1974, represented a remarkable socio-economic, political and cultural phenomenon, albeit short-lived. As the Collective Production Units and Agricultural Cooperatives became extinct, many of their archives began to be destroyed. In order to preserve what remains of such an extensive and information-rich collection, the Centro de Documentação e Arquivo da Reforma Agrária (CDARA) was set up in the 1990s. It has collected and processed documentation from the extinct farming units, but also from unions, regional and local agrarian reform centres and consumer and marketing cooperatives set up in ZIRA’s area of intervention. With this work we aim to publicise the existence of the CDARA; carry out a brief analysis of the content of its documentary collections; and make researchers aware of its potential for impartial and in-depth knowledge of the phenomenon of Agrarian Reform.

Models for creating innovative cooperatives for processing and sales of milk in private farms

The purpose of the article is to study the models for creating innovative “milk processing cooperative”, created on the basis of cooperative relations with dairy-producing personal subsidiary farms, to give recommendations. Based on the creation of dairy processing cooperatives in private subsidiary farms for processing and selling milk within the country, their great potential is being used and dependence on dairy products is being reduced. The models and options for creating dairy processing cooperatives based on the cooperation of private subsidiary farms in the dairy industry of the country are presented: 1) the creation of a “dairy processing innovation cooperative” based on a cooperative relationship with personal subsidiary farms; 2) under a cooperative agreement with personal subsidiary farms of the Turkistan region, the activities of the innovative dairy processing company FoodMaster-Shymkent LLP were considered; 3) the creation of a “dairy production cooperative” with a commercial dairy farm in the settlements of the district is suggested, based on the cooperation process. This is due to the fact that dairy processing and marketing cooperatives, along with the collection, processing, and sale of milk from personal subsidiary farms, of which they were members, assume responsibilities for processing land plots, foraging, providing breeding young animals, providing production and technical services, and state support for personal subsidiary farms. State support (subsidies, tax and credit benefits) through “milk-producing cooperatives”, in which personal subsidiary farms are created, support for personal subsidiary farms is provided through milk-producing cooperatives and milk-processing cooperatives.

The Effect of Service Quality on Financial Performance and Satisfaction of Cooperative Members in Gianyar Regency

This study aims to determine the effect of service quality on financial performance and member satisfaction as well as the level of profitability in Amertanadi Farmer Cooperative and Lumbung Sari Farmer Cooperative. The data collection method uses the interview method with a questionnaire as the main instrument in the research. The sample used in this study were members or family members of the Amertandi Tani Cooperative totalling 81 respondents and members of the Lumbung Sari Tani Cooperative totalling 86 respondents. The research data were obtained from the results of filling out the questionnaire and analysed using SEM analysis techniques with the help of the SmartPLS program. The results of this study indicate that service quality (tangible, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy) has a positive and significant effect on financial performance and financial performance has a positive and significant effect on member satisfaction, based on the results of the study, it is hoped that the Amertandi Farmer Cooperative and Lumbung Sari Farmer Cooperative will be able to improve service quality so that members feel very satisfied.

Drivers of Successful Adoption of Eco-innovation: Case Studies of Agricultural Cooperatives in Vietnam

Research shows that external factors dominate the key determinants of eco-innovation (EI) adoption in organizations in the agriculture sector. Studies are needed to understand the link between internal organizational capabilities and EI adoption. Given the heterogeneity in the types of agricultural cooperatives based on their origin, this study sought to fill this gap by exploring how opportunity, motivation, and ability affect the adoption of EI by agricultural cooperatives. Using a qualitative methodology, we examined seven farming cooperatives in Vietnam and found three dominant drivers of cooperatives’ formation: market, technology, and authority. Market-driven cooperatives are characterized by the presence of opportunity, motivation, and ability; technology-driven ones by motivation and ability; and authority-driven ones by motivation only. This study contributes to the literature on agricultural cooperatives and EI. It offers recommendations to leaders of cooperatives and policymakers.

Assessing Financial Management Practices and Accounting Mechanisms in Agricultural Cooperatives: A Case Study From Nepal

Assessing Financial Management Practices and Accounting Mechanisms in Agricultural Cooperatives: A Case Study From Nepal

Влияние межмуниципальной кооперации на результаты деятельности малых форм хозяйствования на селе

The continuation of sanctions pressure on the Russian economy and, in particular, on the agricultural sector, contributes to the intensification of additional research to overcome negative consequences of this pressure. In these conditions, the role of increasing self-sufficiency in the main ranges of agricultural products in the country increases, including the supply of agricultural producers with the necessary material and technical resources to comply with technological production processes. A significant place in this is given to small forms of farming using the advantages of agricultural cooperation. The article examines the progressive development of agricultural consumer cooperatives in the Republic of Bashkortostan, identifies problems of functioning and ways to solve them in the conditions of existing situations. It is concluded that it is advisable to strengthen and expand intermunicipal and interregional cooperative ties, which will allow agricultural producers to influence the increase in production and promotion of products; reduce the pressure of various intermediary structures, as well as achieve higher economic and social results of their activities.

The Impact of Demonstration Cooperatives on the “Empty Shell” of Farmer Professional Cooperatives in China

With the advancement of farmer professional cooperatives in China, the prevalence of the “empty shell” phenomenon has posed a significant challenge to the health and sustainability of these cooperatives. Utilizing data from 1570 such cooperatives in Guizhou Province, China, this study uses the multi-time differential model and the spatial Durbin model to study the impact of demonstration cooperatives on the “empty shell” of cooperatives and the spatial spillover effect of demonstration cooperatives. The study results show the following: (1) Agricultural professional cooperatives are rated as national or provincial demonstration cooperatives, which are conducive to their development, and the policy evaluation of demonstration cooperatives can effectively inhibit the “empty shell” phenomenon of cooperatives. (2) National and provincial demonstration cooperatives can effectively inhibit the “empty shell” of cooperatives in the region. (3) When there are provincial demonstration cooperatives in the surrounding areas, there will be a spatial spillover effect and the empty shell of regional cooperatives will be inhibited. However, to restrain the “empty shell” of cooperatives, it is essential to capitalize on the spatial policy influence of “demonstration cooperatives” while being vigilant against potential spatial siphoning effects.

Factors influencing women farmers’ participation in agricultural cooperatives in Ondo-State, Nigeria

Cooperative societies provide channels for sharing of input where women farmers can pool their limited resources together to maximize agricultural output and food security in rural areas. This study, therefore, analyzed factors influencing women farmers participation in agricultural cooperatives in Ondo State, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the research were to describe socio-economic characteristics of women farmer’s participation in agricultural cooperative societies, determine the level of participation of women farmers in agricultural cooperatives and examine factors that motivate participation. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Likert type scale, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis. The results revealed that women farmers in the study area were average aged (42.9 years) and mostly possessed tertiary education (38.3%), mean annual income (₦777,846) with farm size (0.8 hectares). The level of participation in agricultural cooperative is high (60.4%). Accessibility to loan (M. S= 3.50), getting information (M. S= 3.42) and input facility (M. S= 3.40) were top most factors that influenced participation in cooperatives among the women. At P< 0.05, Age, marital status and income realized per annum were positively significant to the level of participation in cooperatives. The study recommends the timely provision of loan to enable women farmers expand the scope of their farming activities, increased access to training programs for women farmer leaders in cooperatives as well as extension education should also be intensified.

Analisis Faktor-Faktor yang Memengaruhi Return pn Asset serta Manfaat Ekonomi Anggota Koperasi

This study aims to explain the factors that influence the decline in return on assets and the economic benefits obtained by cooperative members. This research was conducted with the object of the trading business unit of Sumber Tani Mandiri Agricultural Cooperative. In this study, the method used is a case study by collecting data and direct observation on the object of research and then analyzing it in depth. The measuring instrument to determine the factors that influence the decline in return on assets uses net profit margin and total asset turnover. Meanwhile, direct economic benefits are measured by comparing prices in cooperatives and non-cooperatives. In addition, the economic benefit of direct members is analyzed by distributing questionnaires to cooperative members as respondents. Then, for indirect economic benefit, it was measured by calculating the remaining operating results of the members' share. The results showed that the turnover of total assets from 2018 to 2022, so that the turnover of total assets can be said to be effective because the turnover is getting faster. However, when viewed from the development of net profit margin, it is considered inefficient because the amount of net profit margin generated tends to decrease due to increased expenses or costs incurred. The amount of net profit margin generated in 2018 to 2022. Thus, the factors that influence the decrease in return on assets are due to expenses or costs that have increased more than revenue from sales. The direct economic benefits in the form of price benefits offered by cooperatives are cheaper than the prices offered by non-cooperatives. However, for indirect economic benefits in the form of the remaining results of operations has decreased from the previous year.

Building High-tech Agricultural Cooperative Model Aimed at Expanding the Purple Sugarcane Consumption Market in Tan Lac District, Hoa Binh Province

Building High-tech Agricultural Cooperative Model Aimed at Expanding the Purple Sugarcane Consumption Market in Tan Lac District, Hoa Binh Province

Value chain and competitiveness of organic coffee in the agricultural cooperatives of southern Peru

Value chain and competitiveness of organic coffee in the agricultural cooperatives of southern Peru

Does government policy matter in the digital transformation of farmers’ cooperatives?—A tripartite evolutionary game analysis

Farmers’ cooperatives, as one of the new types of agricultural businesses, are an effective carrier for the digital transformation of agriculture, yet existing studies have paid less attention to how farmers’ cooperatives realize digital transformation. As agricultural economic organizations embedded in social networks, the digital transformation of farmers’ cooperatives requires the joint efforts of governments and companies. Based on the evolutionary game theory, this paper constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model of the government, digital technology companies and farmers’ cooperatives, and simulates and analyzes the behavioral decisions of different participants in the digital transformation of farmers’ cooperatives from the perspective of government policy. The results show: Medium government subsidies can effectively promote the digital transformation of farmers’ cooperatives, and strong subsidy policies increase the government’s financial burden, which is not conducive to policy sustainability. Strong government regulation facilitates digital technology companies to actively provide high-quality services for the digital transformation of farmers’ cooperatives, but government regulation does not have a significant impact on the strategic choices of the government and farmers’ cooperatives. When farmer cooperatives and digital technology companies are in a medium or high level of cooperative trust or when the number of labors saved by digital transformation reaches a certain level, farmers’ cooperatives opt for digital transformation even if the government withdraws from policy intervention.

Transitioning to low-carbon agriculture: the non-linear role of digital inclusive finance in China’s agricultural carbon emissions

Promoting low-carbon agricultural development is essential for achieving carbon neutrality and peak carbon emission goals. The emergence of digital inclusive finance has opened a new pathway to reduce agricultural carbon emissions. This study uses data from various provinces in China from 2011 to 2021 to explore the impact of digital inclusive finance on agricultural carbon emissions and its mechanism of action. The results show that during the study period, agricultural carbon emissions first increased and then decreased, with the emission gap between the eastern and western regions narrowing, while the gap between the southern and northern regions widened. Digital inclusive finance has an inverted “U-shaped” nonlinear impact on agricultural carbon emissions, with the depth of use and the degree of digitization being key factors. Agricultural carbon emissions only begin to be effectively suppressed when the scale of digital inclusive finance exceeds the peak value. Additionally, the development of agricultural green cooperatives weakens the emission reduction effect of digital inclusive finance, indicating a decoupling between their developments, while the accumulation of human capital enhances its emission reduction effect. Based on this, the government is advised to continue promoting low-carbon strategies and the development of digital inclusivity in rural areas. Financial institutions should develop financial products suitable for agricultural green cooperatives, and agricultural green cooperatives should also provide timely feedback and communication to achieve coordinated development between the two. Furthermore, education and training for farmers should be strengthened to encourage them to learn and adopt new technologies.

Organizational structures of agriculture cooperatives in China: Evidence from the green vegetable sector

China’s agriculture cooperatives are playing a pivotal role in promoting rural development and boosting farmers’ income. As a result of the rapidly changing external environment, diverse types of cooperatives have emerged. However, a comprehensive understanding of the organizational structures, including ownership, control, and benefit rights, of different types of cooperatives, is limited. This study analyzes the organizational structures of two types of cooperatives in China: entrepreneur-led cooperatives and government-led cooperatives. Qualitative methodology was used in this study, including semi-structured interviews with four green vegetable production cooperatives in Shandong province. Results reveal the structural differences between these two types of case cooperatives. Despite the shared ownership, control, and benefit rights among members, entrepreneur-led cooperatives are characterized by the dominance of core members in capital contribution, control rights, and dividend distribution; whereas government-led cooperatives distribute those rights more equally among all members. The findings in this study present a more comprehensive landscape of the organizational structures of China’s cooperatives. Empirically, it demonstrates how cooperatives can evolve and vary across laws and cultures, even within the same legislative background. Additionally, it offers crucial insights for these cooperatives to develop and sustain long-term vitality.

Social capital enhances the resilience of agricultural cooperatives: Comparative case studies in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Agricultural cooperatives play an important role in increasing rice production and contribute to the rural economy of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, but their resilience can be influenced by community governance and the social capital of members. This study investigated the comparative importance of social capital of members in two agricultural cooperatives in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. We focused on two primary research questions: (1) How has social capital influenced the resilience of agricultural cooperatives for rice production? (2) What key factors influenced social capital in the two cooperatives? The study applied qualitative and quantitative data collection methods including focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and household surveys. Measures of social capital of members in the cooperative in An Giang scored higher than that of members in the cooperative in Can Tho. Our study found that low levels of education amongst members and weak bonding social capital between subgroups with different social networks and different farming outputs in the same cooperative were two key factors impacting adversely on the resilience of the two cooperatives. Trust was revealed to be a very important component of successful ACs. These are critical areas that need to be addressed by policy makers in order to improve the community governance and resilience of rice farming cooperatives in the Mekong Delta.

Ukraine – ASEAN: new opportunities for strengthening partnership

The article provides a comprehensive scientific analysis of the current state of relations between Ukraine and ASEAN. The article considers promising areas of cooperation between them in the areas of food, agriculture, digitalisation, trade, energy, disaster management, demining, and socio-cultural cooperation. The author outlines Ukraine’s advantages in the field of agriculture and its ability to make a significant contribution to the sustainable supply of products to the ASEAN markets, given the production potential that far exceeds the needs of the domestic market. The article considers Ukraine’s readiness to share its experience in the field of digitalisation, given the existence of successful projects, such as the Diia mobile application developed by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine in 2019; the ‘Trembita’ system for electronic interaction of state electronic information resources; and experience in disaster prevention. And to learn from the experience of ASEAN member states in demining agricultural land in de-occupied communities, given their unique experience in demining in Cambodia, where years of war left a significant number of mines. It is proposed to develop and strengthen partnerships between the parties in the socio-cultural sphere to promote contemporary Ukrainian cinema, music, theatre, performance, literature, classical and contemporary fine arts. A separate area of this sphere is the promotion of the Ukrainian language among ASEAN countries, as well as the promotion of Ukrainian cultural heritage and projects in the field of culture and art of indigenous peoples and national minorities, including the promotion of Crimean Tatar culture in ASEAN countries.

Research on a multiobjective cooperative operation scheduling method for agricultural machinery across regions with time windows

This article aims to solve the problems of high cost, low efficiency, and task delay caused by the lack of scientific scheduling strategies during the agricultural harvest season. Considering the constraints of operation time windows, a multimachine multiobjective cross-regional collaborative operation scheduling model is constructed with the goal of minimizing the transfer distance of agricultural machinery and nonoperational scheduling costs. A multiobjective genetic algorithm (HTSMOGA) based on a hybrid time window priority rule and a tabu search strategy is designed. The initial population is generated by utilizing time window priority rules, genes with earlier operation start times are preferentially retained, and a mixed search strategy is introduced to avoid local optimal solutions. Experiments were conducted among 24 farms in a region of Hebei Province, and the results showed that, compared with other algorithms, the HTSMOGA achieved an average reduction of 17.18 % in the transfer distance of agricultural machine operations and 19.36 % in the nonoperational waiting time. Therefore, this study provides a rational and feasible solution for the cross-regional operation scheduling of agricultural machinery cooperatives and provides theoretical support for ensuring the timely completion of harvesting tasks and the cost savings and efficiency of agricultural machinery operations.

Membangun Komitmen untuk Sukses: Studi Kasus pada Koperasi Petani Bunga di Kopeng Kabupaten Semarang

Human resource management and cooperatives are very important for sustainability and performance in an era of globalization and increasingly fierce economic competition. This study investigates flower farmer cooperatives in Kopeng, Semarang Regency, and focuses on appropriate management methods to increase member commitment, which impacts the success and competitiveness of the cooperative. This research found a lack of knowledge about the components that influence member commitment and how to increase it. This research found that social factors, such as relationships between members, and economic factors, such as financial benefits, have a large influence on member commitment. The research results show that strengthening social relationships and providing financial incentives are effective management strategies to increase member commitment. The research results show that two effective management approaches to increase member commitment are improving social relationships and providing financial incentives. In addition, it was found that increased communication and participation in decision making were important components in increasing member commitment. This research offers theoretical and practical insights into managing member commitment in the context of flower farmer cooperatives and provides recommendations for cooperative practitioners and academics about management strategies that can be implemented to increase member commitment, which in turn will improve cooperative performance and sustainability.

Project Management theories and Corporate Governance: Towards Effective Management of Small Farming Cooperative Projects

Project management is defined as the process of applying project knowledge, skills, tools and processes to the established tasks of a project to fulfil the objectives of the project. The planning, execution, controlling, monitoring and closure processes are guided by domains of expertise such as integration, scope, budget, schedule, quality, procurement, communication, human resources, stakeholder management and risk management. This paper sought to analyze theories of project management and corporate governance for effective management of small farming cooperatives. The study adopted a conceptual approach to demonstrate the managerial processes of the theories of project management and corporate governance and how they relate to one another. In the process the literature has revealed that project management is seen by organizations as new methods to plan and manage changes. These planned activities, if not properly coordinated using project management skills, may lead to an unsuccessful project. Project success depends on number of factors ranging from project efficiency, impact on the customer, impact on the project team impact and business or organizational success. The Corporate governance (CG) has been increasingly prevalent in organizations in recent years, and its significance is now acknowledged on a global scale. It has even been adopted by countries where regulations governing the use of CG in organizations have yet to be implemented. The reason for CG's universal appeal is that it serves as the cornerstone of an organization’s operational structure. The article concludes with the relevance of these theories towards effective management of small farming cooperatives.