Agricultural Production Cooperatives Research Articles

English

Training is one of the components affecting the human resource development in a society. It is an effective component for developing entrepreneurship in agricultural production cooperatives. This study purpose is evaluating and classifying the needed trainings in agricultural production cooperatives to develop entrepreneurship. This study is descriptive and applicatory. Statistical population included 492 managing directors of active agricultural production cooperatives of Khuzestan province, of which 101 cooperatives were selected by sampling. Questionnaire was the data collection instrument, which its validity and reliability were proved using a panel of experts and Cornbach's alpha coefficient (0.82), respectively. Results show that five factors groups clarify about 83.99 of the training needed for the development of entrepreneurship in the Khuzestan agricultural cooperatives. These factors include Regulation training (23.42%), risk management training (21.46%), creativity training (18.57%), marketing training (12.83%), training for registering ideas, and moral ownership (7.68%). Key words: Training, entrepreneurship, agricultural production cooperative.

Studying the variables that separate entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial agricultural producer cooperatives (APCs) for predicting group membership

The main purpose of this study is to predict the group membership of entrepreneurial or nonentrepreneurial agricultural producer cooperative based on a linear combination of the interval variables. Discriminant function analysis was used in this research for access purpose. The study’s sample consisted of 250 agricultural cooperatives in Iran. The variables that indicate the entrepreneurial situation of a cooperative include the number of jobs that were created by cooperatives, increase or decrease of cooperative members, number of enterprise(s) created by cooperatives and growth in cooperatives' funds or possession. After recognition of these two types of cooperative, independent variables [individual, educational, economic, managerial (structural), managerial (financial), policy making, social and psychological] were entered into the discriminant function. The independent variables were obtained by factor analysis technique and each of them consists of many components. A questionnaire that was made by researchers based on literature review was used for data gathering. The questionnaire’s content and face validity were established by a panel of experts consisting of faculty members and managers in cooperation ministry. The reliability of the questionnaire was measured by Cronbach Alpha ( α=0.88). The results obtained based on the structure matrix of independent variables showed that the individual characteristics of cooperative members have the most discriminant power of separating entrepreneurial from non-entrepreneurial APCs. After this variable, psychological, social and managerial (structural) variables have more discriminant power to separate these two kinds of agricultural producer cooperatives.

The Development of Agricultural Production Cooperatives in Russia

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a large number of collective farms (kolkhozes and sovkhozes) were transformed into agricultural production co-operatives. After two decades, most of these production co-operatives are still in operation. Although they face problems as regards e.g. wage levels, profitability and productivity, they are strong in many regions of the Russian Federation and within many types of crops. The continued existence of such agricultural production co-operatives puzzles many Western economists. This paper attempts to provide an explanation in terms of the history of Russian co-operatives in the agricultural sector and of the institutional settings, i.e. the legal and administrative environment of the cooperatives.

Application of strategic planning for extension and development of agricultural production cooperatives in Iran

There is no doubt that in today’s world establishment of cooperatives is an effective way of attracting people’s involvement at macro level. The agricultural sector is so extensive that achievement of national goals and high levels of development is practically unattainable without active participation by farmers. Provision of a combination of agricultural functional requirements by cooperatives would lead to enhancement of the standard of living of their members. Rural production cooperatives, also known as agricultural cooperatives, are defined as a modern construct with their own specific organization and management. Cooperatives incorporate their own ruling principles, structures, networks, rules, regulations, and bylaws. These features provide concrete benefits in the process of agricultural development. This paper aims to review the activities of rural agricultural production cooperatives in Iran and propose a strategic planning approach for development and institutionalization of their operations. This qualitative research was conducted in Iran using case study and purposeful sampling method. The proposed strategies for promotion of production cooperatives include: provision of support in terms of financial credits, organizational and management expertise, technical know-how and technology, equipment and training, empowerment of members aimed at transforming them into successful farm managers, promotion of team work among members, and extraction of appropriate information and practical advice from research data provided by contemporary investigations. In conclusion, it is proposed that establishment of cooperatives alongside other issues should be considered by policy makers and local leaders and representatives trusted by farmers be involved in their implementation. Key words: Production cooperative, strategic planning, cooperation, strategy, participation.

Assessing effective factors in development of entrepreneurship in agricultural cooperatives of Zanjan province

Nowadays, entrepreneurship is considered as the engine of economic and cultural development of society. Entrepreneurial organization can provide an environment in which all members can participate in entrepreneurial affairs. According to 44th principle of the constitution, a special place is given to the cooperative sector in all sectors including agriculture. The purpose of this study was identifying factors affecting the development and strengthening entrepreneurship in agricultural production cooperatives in Zanjan province. A descriptive–correlation survey approach was used in this study. The study population consists of agricultural cooperative managers. Research samples was selected using randomly stratified method with using Cochrane formula (n=165). Reliability of instruments was determined by pilot test and calculating Cronbach alpha coefficient. Cronbach alpha values were 0.82. Validity of instrument was determined by investigating the attitudes of specialists in university and cooperative office in Zanjan. Results showed that from the perspective of managers the most important factors in strengthening entrepreneurship in agricultural cooperatives are: Providing financial support and tax breaks, reform the banking laws and making regulations to adjust with entrepreneurs conditions and preparing the document of national entrepreneurship development. Results also demonstrated that there is significant relationship between the entrepreneurial scores of managers and education level of board members, the total number of cooperatives and success level of cooperatives. One-way analysis of variance showed that there is significantly different between entrepreneurial scores of agricultural cooperatives in cities in province.

Notes from the Field: Young Women in Two Cuban Agricultural Cooperatives

En el contexto del preocupante número pequeño y en declive de mujeres, especialmente mujeres jóvenes, en las cooperativas agrícolas en Cuba, se llevó a cabo en 2008 una investigación cualitativa sobre mujeres jóvenes en dos diferentes formas de cooperativa— una unidad básica de producción cooperativa y una cooperativa de producción agropecuaria. Los resultados, basados en entrevistas con las mujeres jóvenes y sus dirigentes señalaron varios factores socioeconómicos, interrelacionados, que militaron en contra de ellas, frenando su desarrollo y contribuyendo a su frustración. Actitudes patriarcales se evidenciaron en relegar a las mujeres jóvenes a trabajo que requería menos esfuerzo físico y se pagaba menos que el de los hombres; los dirigentes vieron como limitación el hecho de que las mujeres jóvenes vivían con parejas, tenían hijos, y estaban en edad reproductiva; las mujeres jóvenes sintieron sobrecalificadas para su trabajo; y en la práctica (no-oficial), independiente del nivel educacional, se seleccionaba al hombre por encima de la mujer.

La cooperativa como institución agraria en Cuba: principios normativos que la sostienen

<p>Las Cooperativas de Producción Agropecuarias y las de Créditos y Servicios en Cuba, a pesar de su carácter social y revolucionario, se desvían del real entendimiento del ente cooperativo, según lo entendido como tal históricamente. Fundan su funcionamiento en un conjunto de principios normativos, que ayudan a este alejamiento, y que en la realidad provocan disolución entre lo normado y la práctica, por lo que su modificación se torna urgente.</p><p><strong>Recibido</strong>: 16.07.10<br /><strong>Aceptado</strong>: 27.07.10</p>

Potentials For The Development Of Co-Operatives In The Nigerian Oil Palm Industry

Co-operatives are important in the socio-economic development of nations. Basically, they strive to achieve individual and collective self – reliance, activation of indigenous human and material resources, equal opportunities, democracy, solidarity, improved standard of living for members, access to capital, increased income and other desired cooperative effects. In the Oil Palm industry, there is increasing concern that the fruits of economic progress are not reaching all sections of the society, particularly the Oil Palm farmers. The paper discusses players in the industry and examines cooperative concepts such as social, sociopolitical, legalistic and the economic; with a view to determining how best to induce cooperative progress in the Oil Palm industry. The paper posits that the economic concept provides a more useful framework for the development of Oil Palm cooperative societies while the introduction and use of agricultural production cooperatives among farmers appears to be the most viable option for engendering cooperative progress in the Oil Palm industry.

A realidade da cadeia do trigo no Brasil: o elo produtores/cooperativas

O presente artigo tem como objeto a cadeia produtiva do trigo no Brasil e destaca a realidade econômica de seus principais elos, com ênfase nos elos da produção agrícola e industrial do cereal. Salienta-se que o artigo traz a atualidade do setor no Brasil, a partir da análise dos resultados de pesquisa de campo realizada com produtores rurais, cooperativas e moinhos de trigo. O estudo da cadeia tritícola brasileira, com seus problemas, oferece uma luz para melhor compreensão das condições que o país possui para não só responder às dúvidas expostas, mas, sobretudo, apontar o caminho seguido pela produção de trigo no Brasil nesse início de século XXI. A triticultura nacional está ameaçada e dificilmente alcançará a auto-suficiência, pois os produtores brasileiros não possuem vantagens comparativas e competitivas suficientes, particularmente em relação aos produtores argentinos. A comercialização do trigo também enfrenta dificuldades, tanto na questão de preços do produto, quanto na qualidade exigida pelos moinhos. A retirada da intervenção estatal na produção nacional de trigo, em 1990/91, que a deixou ao sabor do mercado, alterou completamente o quadro de competitividade dos produtores e da própria cadeia produtiva. Uma das principais conclusões é de que a cadeia tritícola brasileira não funciona a contento, a eficiência da produção nacional está em xeque e seu futuro, comprometido.

Modeling determinants of agricultural production cooperatives' performance in Iran

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to identify the fundamental factors that are key determinants in promoting effective operation of Agricultural Production Cooperatives (APCs). A theoretical framework “determinants of APCs' performance” was used to analyze the links between the webs of factors. A survey method was used to collect data from two southern provinces in Iran. Data were collected from 52 managers and 260 member farmers in 52 APCs using a stratified random sampling method. It is concluded that the theoretical model can to a great extent predict the performance of APCs. Cooperative structure and government support factors are the most important factors explaining the performance of APCs. Also, policy strategies need to focus on conditioning variables that affect the performance of APCs.

Desenvolvimento organizacional e interpessoal em cooperativas de produção agropecuária: reflexão sobre o método

O artigo apresenta alguns elementos para a reflexão sobre um método de elaboração e implementação de programa de desenvolvimento organizacional em cooperativas populares de produção agropecuária. Elaborado com base em estudos e experiências vividas com a organização e gestão de cooperativas localizadas nas regiões Sul e Sudeste e Centro-Oeste do Brasil e na participação em processos de formação dos cooperados, aborda temas referentes à convivência social e relações interpessoais que interferem no desenvolvimento organizacional. Apresenta um balanço sobre o processo organizativo dos assentamentos e das cooperativas, discute o conceito de desenvolvimento organizacional como estratégia de socialização para o trabalho e a necessidade de construir propostas apropriadas para as organizações cooperativas populares. Esboça algumas diretrizes para a implementação de programas de desenvolvimento organizacional pautados tanto pela solução das necessidades econômicas imediatas quanto pela preservação dos valores humanos e dos recursos naturais, sugerindo a utilização de um método que pode ser capaz de resgatar elementos importantes do universo simbólico dos cooperados.

Important findings of the sampling survey conducted on farms in the CR under Phare ACE project

The paper is based on a special sampling survey of farms that was conducted under EU PHARE ACE research project P97-8158-R “Micro-economic Analysis of Farm Restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe” in 2000 in one of the NUTS 2 regions of the CR – in the South-East region. The region involves two administrative regions – Vysočina and South Moravian NUTS 3 and consists of subregions with different natural and market conditions (of hilly, lowland and suburban type) representing the conditions of agricultural production in the Czech Republic as a whole. The main results of the survey focused on farms of three different categories are presented: farms as legal entities (separately agricultural production cooperatives, joint stock companies and limited liability companies), officially registered individual farms of different size (formally licensed to business activities) and unregistered individual farms including small farming units – households with self-sustaining agricultural production.

Agricultural producer cooperatives: Some lessons of experience from Ethiopia

Development is a very complicated and comprehensive phenomenon. At the minimum, its successful implementation requires a sufficient background study of targeted areas to be able to harmonize new ideas with existing realities. Cooperative activities can help facilitate the development process but they have to be organized in terms of those who would eventually benefit from the effort. What has been demonstrated in the Ethiopian case is a vivid example of inappropriate approach which usually springs from lack of sufficient knowledge and/or solicited judgement. Development would most likely be successful if it is planned and implemented in collaboration with the ultimate beneficiaries. Besides, hard work and individual initiatives have to be honored if human and natural resources are to be effectively utilized. The Ethiopian muddled rural development model offers very good examples of what not to do.

Worker Self-Management and Work Incentives on Nicaraguan Agricultural Production Cooperatives: An Investigation of Relative Performance

ABSTRACT During the Sandinista era Agrarian Reform in Nicaragua hundreds of collectively organized agricultural production cooperatives were created. While production and administrative scale economies were sought, internal incentive problems that typically afflict such enterprises could well have offset such advantages. After characterizing the internal factors which impact on work incentives in these cooperatives, empirical tests are designed to compare the relative efficiency of cooperative, household and capitalist tenure regimes. The findings indicate that internal incentive frictions on the cooperatives were managed such that efficiency gains were not necessarily to be captured under alternative tenure forms.

The Transition from External Constraint to Enterprise Autonomy on Nicaraguan Agricultural Production Co-Operatives

Before 1985 the Sandinista government in Nicaragua imposed severe constraints on the management and operation of collectively organized agricultural production co-operatives. Integral choices regarding leadership selection, land use, crop choice, surplus retention, marketing arrangements and property rights reflected the state's rather than co-operators' preferences and generated powerful disincentives for collective sector activity. In 1985, however, changes in official policy permitted co- operators much greater enterprise control. Members responded to this enhanced autonomy in ways that accorded with theoretical expectation, most fundamentally by preserving collective tenure while combining it with an enlarged household sector.

Specific features of nutrition of some household groups in the former GDR--a final documentation

Existing data of nutrition surveys made in individual households of the former GDR were processed and interpreted in order to characterize nutrition of individual population groups. The results revealed some remarkable differences in food consumption as well as energy and nutrient intake: in households of members of agricultural production cooperatives (especially on account of feeding this products to animals) as well as higher consumption of foodstuffs from their own production (in particular eggs, fruit and vegetables); higher food consumption in small households (predominantly in pensioner households); more frequent participation of employed persons (persons from households of workers/clerks [office workers], and members of agricultural production cooperatives) in communal feeding; excessive intake of energy and fat, in particular in pensioners.

Comrade Tan Zhenlin Reports on the Grain and Cooperatives Situation in Zhejiang (June 21, 1955)

I have returned to Shanghai. During my ten-day stay in Hangzhou I spent most of my time investigating the issues of agricultural production cooperatives and state monopoly purchase and marketing of grain in Zhejiang. In Zhejiang the number of cooperatives has been decreased from 53, 000 to 38, 000 while the percentage of peasant households with cooperative membership the has declined from 28 percent to 18 percent. At present APC production is going very well. For most of them an increase in output can be assured, and [cooperative] operation and management is also good in most of them. However, the policy of mutual benefit has not been thoroughly implemented. Not only do cadres and activists in cooperatives bear resentment, but so do county, district, and township cadres. The investigation found the reason to be mainly that since the class line was implemented last year the idea of taking advantage of middle peasants had already emerged and nobody was willing to treat middle peasants equally and share bene...

Settlements of Agricultural Production Cooperatives and their Place in the Settlement System of Cuba

Settlements of Agricultural Production Cooperatives and their Place in the Settlement System of Cuba

Law and Socialist Agricultural Development in Vietnam: the Statute for Agricultural Producer Cooperatives

Law and Socialist Agricultural Development in Vietnam: the Statute for Agricultural Producer Cooperatives

Statute for Higher-Level Agricultural Producer Cooperatives (Provisional)

Statute for Higher-Level Agricultural Producer Cooperatives (Provisional)