Non-cooperative Members Research Articles

Joint Responsibility in Facing Financial Risks in Cooperative Groups (Case in Study Indonesian it is called Tanggung Renteng)

Cooperatives will exist if they can develop flexible business activities oriented to service to members, in line with the development of members' businesses, and transaction costs between members and cooperatives are smaller than non-cooperative members and are able to develop the capital base of the members themselves. There are important things that must be considered in this regard, many experiences show that one of the factors causing the weakness of cooperatives is that the excess value of capital turnover in the cooperative system is more accepted by institutions outside the cooperative and its members. Cooperation activities must be by the characteristics of the community and its members. This study aims to analyze the joint responsibility of cooperative groups in Surabaya to face financial risks. The research method used is a case study on the Setia Bhakti Savings and Loan Cooperative Surabaya. Data was collected through interviews, observations, and documentation. The study results show that the Setia Bhakti Surabaya Savings and Loan Cooperative, whose members are majority women, interprets joint responsibility as diversity that is responsible for each member with risks that must be overcome together. In the current socio-cultural order of society, it can be concluded that cooperatives must be able to grow, develop, and at the same time also play a role and benefit the life of the community that develops from the traditional society with strong sociological ties through primary emotional relationships towards a heterogeneous society and is increasingly involved in the market and capital system. This is what is found in the Setia Bhakti Surabaya Savings and Loan Cooperative, whose members are dominated by women and shared responsibility is interpreted as diversity that is responsible for each member with risks that must be overcome.

Efforts to Overcome Obstacles to Bailout Funds for KGPN Cooperative Customers in Medan Tembung District

This research aims to determine the factors that cause problematic credit at the KGPN Cooperative, Medan Tembung District. This research uses qualitative research with interview observation and documentation methods. The problems in this research are: 1. What causes Bad Credit in Cooperatives? 2. What are the Efforts to Pay Off Loans for Cooperative Members Who Bail Out Customers of the Medan Tembung District KGPN Cooperative? The effort to resolve the loan bailout from cooperative members which was bailed out by KGPN Cooperative customers in Medan Tembung District is to carry out good communication with customers. If you don't get results, you will contact someone close to the customer. Cooperatives are the implementation of chapter 33 of the Constitution as regulated in Law Number 25 of 1992 concerning Cooperatives. Cooperatives in Indonesia have a big influence on the survival of local residents. Moreover, in cooperatives there are several cooperative members and non-cooperative members who are not punctual in returning their debts at the predetermined time. Bad credit in savings and loan cooperatives has become a matter of great concern for the health of the cooperative itself. Bad debts in cooperatives are increasing over time and are difficult to collect. Gutter funds are widely used in the current transaction process. Such as implementing the pay late concept which uses bailout funds first. So that the main payment is made in accordance with the terms and policies of both parties. In other cases, bailout funds can be applied to various transaction areas, not only buying and selling transactions.

T-test analysis for income comparison between members and non-members of livunzu cooperative in chikwawa district, Malawi.

Abstract This study examines the relationship between agricultural cooperatives and farmers’ income. Agricultural cooperatives have been a well-known avenue for improving small-scale farmers’ economic well-being by widening access to resources, markets and collective action. A simple random sample of 293 rice farming households was surveyed. The study employed the use of descriptive statistics to describe the characteristics of the respondents. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data in a household survey targeting cooperative and non-cooperative members. The study employed the use of SPSS package version 28 in data analysis. T-test analysis was used to establish the statistical differences in means of the cooperative and non-cooperative member farmers. It was established that being in a cooperative improves income in rice farming. The results suggested that policies aimed at improving farmer’s access to market power, and production modalities are important intervention avenues that can affect the income of rice farming in the area. The understanding of the relationship between cooperatives and farmers’ income is important for policy makers, development workers and the farmers in their effort to enhance the economic well-being of the farmers.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS THE SAFE PRODUCTION BEHAVIOR BETWEEN COOPERATIVE MEMBERS AND NONCOOPERATIVE MEMBERS IN ANBUKHAIRENI RURAL MUNICIPALITY, NEPAL

Nepal government has prioritized cooperative development for easy access to agricultural inputs, the adoption of improved technology, and the development of a sustainable market. A study was conducted to compare and contrast the perceptions towards the safe production behavior between cooperative members and non-cooperative members in Anbukhaireni Rural Municipality, Nepal Milijuli Krishi Utpadak Sahakari and Akala Krishi Sahakari were purposefully selected for the study. Ninety-one (91) cooperative members were randomly selected and ninety (90) non-cooperative members were selected through convienence sampling. A convergent parallel method was adopted, a face-to-face method of interview schedule followed by the mWater surveyor application was used for data collection. The five likert scale technique was used to indicate the extent of the perception of farmers’ towards various statements. The perception of the respondents was analyzed using chi-square test, and the Mann-Whitney U test. Probit regression was used to determine socio-economic factors affecting farmers participation in cooperatives. The cooperative members had the nearest market distance (z=-6.99, p<0.01) and were more involved in commercial farming (z=4.40, p<0.01). The probability of farmers’ participation was 12 % and 4.3 % higher for the farmers with gender as head of the household (z=2.52, p<0.05) and farmers who have received training related to cooperatives (z=2.09, p<0.05). In the perception study, the cooperative members agreed with the statements of input supply situation, saving/credit facility provided, technology adoption, and adoption on post-harvest operations as compared to non-cooperative members. The cooperative and non-cooperative members showed differences in the marketing behaviours with the point of sale (2=326.98, p<0.01), mode of transportation (2 = 250.65, p<0.01), and the price determination (2 =288.042, p<0.01).Therefore, training on the importance of agricultural cooperatives especially targeted to females, farmers with large farm sizes, and farmers whose farms are a bit farther from the market was suggested for safe agricultural production. Moreover, widespread development of the agricultural market (if not collection centers) should be made for sustainable agricultural production.

Comparative Study of the Agro-Innovation Adoption among Members and Non-Members of Agricultural Cooperatives in Nigeria

This study compares the level of awareness and adoption of innovative agricultural technologies among members and non-members of cooperative societies. This is to direct policies on the diffusion and adoption of agricultural technologies to facilitate increased food production as Nigeria’s economy strives for post-COVID-19 survival and recovery. A multistage technique was used to select a sample of 320 constituting 160 cooperative members and 160 non-cooperative members. Structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data, which was then analysed using both descriptive (Mean, standard deviation) and inferential (regression, ANOVA) statistics. The results suggest that awareness and adoption of new agricultural technologies are higher among members of cooperatives compared to non-members. This study advocates that cooperative societies are veritable vehicles for innovation diffusion. Some challenges of the farmers were explored, and the study recommended that new technologies should be introduced through cooperatives using Small Plots Adoption trial (SPAT) and increased deployment of extension workers to farmers. Furthermore, Cooperative farmers and non-cooperative farmers should be persuaded by the extension workers in ADP to attend agricultural exhibitions where the farm outputs of new technologies are displayed together with the outputs of the old technologies so that they can see the obvious difference and adopt the new technologies.

ANALYSIS FARMERS’ INCOME BETWEEN MEMBERS AND NON-MEMBERS OF AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE IN MUHANGA DISTRICT, RWANDA

This study analyzed farmers’ income between members and non-members of agricultural cooperatives in Muhanga District, Rwanda. The research used a descriptive design based on quantitative approaches; 60 cooperative members and 60 non-cooperative members which were maize farmers selected randomly in the study, plus 6 local leaders and staff of Tuzamurane Cyeza Cooperative who were used as key informants. Data collection tools were questionnaires and interviews. The collected data were analyzed by income and the independent sample t-test analysis to measure farmers’ income between members and non-members of the cooperative. The findings showed that Tuzamurane Cyeza Cooperative provided services such: as easy access to credit, easy access to agricultural inputs, and acquisition of new technology and helped farmers to increase income from the cooperative. The results from the calculation indicated that the mean income of maize farmers who are members of the cooperative (Group 1), 366420 RWF is greater than the mean income of maize farmers who are non-members of the cooperative (Group 2), 137151RWF; (1RWF=14.04IDR). Further, the value of Sig. (0.047) which less than 0.05 was a good indicator that the variance in incomes of maize farmers who are members of the cooperative and non-members of the cooperative was significantly different. Our findings concluded that agricultural cooperatives’ membership contributed to expanding access to markets, and people need to unite themselves in cooperatives because they play a crucial role in reducing poverty, improving food security, and generating employment opportunities.

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.
 

Resilient Consensus in Robot Swarms With Periodic Motion and Intermittent Communication

In this article, we propose an approach to construct a time-varying communication topology with a resilient consensus performance for robot swarms with limited communication ranges. The robots are deployed to explore a large task space and achieve consensus despite the existence of a finite number of noncooperative members in the team. Existing methods encouraged robots to stay close to each other to achieve certain robustness requirements on the connectivity of the communication topology. We leverage on the robots’ mobility to design a time-varying integrated topology composed of several subgroups of robots deployed on nonoverlapping closed-loop paths. Robots are spread out and move along the paths, forming periodic communication links within or across groups. We analyze the time-varying topology synthesized and provide sufficient conditions for individual subgroups and the interconnection between them. We show designs satisfying the conditions with simulated examples in a lattice space, as well as in a task space with predefined paths.

Impact of Cooperative Membership on Rural Income Generation in Southwest, Nigeria

This study examines the impact of cooperative membership on rural income generation. It also analyzes the factors influencing participation in cooperatives among rural households in Southwest, Nigeria. The study was designed to account for selection bias into cooperative organizations. Rural household survey data were used and the estimates were based on both the Probit model and non-parametric propensity score matching method. The findings show that income generated through cooperative membership is approximately 10% higher than those generated by noncooperative members. Empirical estimates of determinants of cooperative membership indicate that years of education, age and land size have significant influences on the decision to join cooperatives.

Power Imbalance and the Dark Side of the Captive Agri-food Supplier–Buyer Relationship

This paper highlights the dark side of power imbalance regarding its consequences in agri-food supplier–buyer relationships. We report on findings from two studies. The first study is based on a sample of 105 key informants, while study 2 is based on a sample of 444 key informants, all from the cocoa agri-food supply market of Ghana. While the first study focuses on the antecedents of power imbalance and its consequences, the second study explores the role of cooperatives/collective action in minimizing supplier exploitation. Data from these studies were analysed using the partial least squares technique (SmartPLS). Analysis of these findings shows switching costs’ impact on power imbalance to be curvilinear, while power imbalance has a curvilinear relationship with opportunism. The negative consequences of power imbalance are further exacerbated by dependency and the lack of joint action. Furthermore, we found the negative impact of power imbalance on financial performance to be stronger for non-cooperative members than for cooperative members, while, counterintuitively, we found the positive impact of economic satisfaction on financial performance to be stronger for non-cooperative members than for cooperative members.

Environmental efficiency of rice production in Vietnam: An application of SBM-DEA with undesirable output

Abstract. Le TL, Luu TTH, Huynh N, Chung RH. 2020. Environmental efficiency of rice production in Vietnam: An application of SBM-DEA with undesirable output. Biodiversitas 21: 2710-2715. In Vietnam, the agricultural sector is one of major sources of the country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and over half of that comes from rice cultivation. This study evaluates the environmental efficiency of 400 rice farms in the Mekong Delta using slack-based measure (SBM) data envelopment analysis (DEA) with considering the total amount of CO2-equivalent (CO2-eq) emissions in the rice field as undesirable output. The findings revealed that the average environmental efficiency score of the farmers was very low, just only 0.461. Only 2.25% of the sample farms were environmentally efficient while majority of them (58%) obtained the efficiency values less than the mean indicating that their environmental efficiency needs to be further improved. The small rice farms were higher in environmental efficiency scores compared with large farms. The sample rice farmers who are members of agricultural cooperatives obtained a significantly higher environmental efficiency than the non-cooperative members. The estimated results of input and bad output excesses showed that about 1.35 tons of CO2-eq ha-1 could be reduced and an average of 54.18 kg N ha-1 could be saved in order to improve the environmental performance of rice production in the study area.

The power of habit: does production experience lead to pesticide overuse?

The influence of farmers' production experience on pesticide overuse is empirically analyzed by an endogenous switching probit model of pesticide use time, type, and dosage, based on survey data of 836 rice farmers in the Yangtze River Basin of China. We find that farmers' production experience is an important cause of pesticide overuse, especially for small-scale farmers. Older, self-sufficient, small-scale, non-cooperative members and rice farmers with distant market towns are more likely to use pesticides based on their personal experience. In terms of pesticide use time, type, and dosage, 35.26%, 30.10%, and 28.52% of the samples, respectively, relied on a decision based on "experience." Among them, farmers' decision-making based on production experience for pesticide type and dosage are the key causes of pesticide overuse. These results will be helpful for reducing pesticides and correcting farmers' "bad habits" within agricultural ecosystems.

Empirical research on the role of internal social capital upon the innovation performance of cooperative firms

BACKGROUND: Internal social capital in the cooperative firms has emerged in recent years as an important concept for improving innovation performance. OBJECTIVE: We explore whether the cohabitation of the different interacting social groups, namely cooperative members, and non-cooperative members, will generate disparate impacts on the circumstance for enhanced innovation. METHODOLOGY: A sample of 180 cooperative firms in Ethiopia, with two respondents per firm, consisting of one adherent and one non-adherent member, we reflected on the theory of social capital, and by adopting a relational, cognitive, and structural concept. We conducted Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) through PLS to analyze the importance of each group for innovation performance. RESULTS: Our results suggested that the internal interaction between adherent and non-adherent members of cooperative enterprises positively influences their “innovation performance”. The findings also revealed that non-adherent members were more involved in building innovation than adherent members. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide empirical evidence that internal social factors are essential assets for effective innovation in cooperatives, and established a new line of research within an empirical perspective.

Mill ownership and farmer's cooperative behavior: the case of Costa Rica coffee farmers

AbstractWe analyze how Costa Rican coffee farmer's behavior in an experimental public good game depends on the institutional structure of the farmers buying point (cooperativevs.privately owned mills), and on the background of their game partners (partners selling to the same type of mill or not). We find that cooperative farmers do not display more public good orientation than private market farmers when playing with partners from the same type of mill. However, though farmers selling to private mills make no difference with respect to the background of partners, farmers selling to cooperatives significantly decrease contributions when paired with non-cooperative members. Finally, we study how self-selection into a mechanism that punishes the lowest contributors effects contributions both inside the group and with partners of the opposite background, and we show that it increases contributions by cooperative farmers interacting with non-cooperative farmers by more than 100%.

Empowering Rural Women through Access to Credits in Kano State Region: The Role of Co-Operatives

Men and women not only have differing access toresources, gender based responsibilities which is seen by Falola (1996) as a sociological construction alsoresult in differences in the management and distribution of resources withinthe household and the community. The United Nations Development in 1993 coinedthe sustainable human development, the achievement of which depends on amongother factors accessibility of women to production resources and participationin cooperative organisations The study examined the role of co-operativesexpanding women’s access to credit facilities in some rural areas of Kano andJigawa states. Two peri- urban settlements –Dawanau and Dawakin Tofa in KanoState and Four rural areas Marke in Kano State and Furji, Acilafia and Gwiwawere selected for the study. A total of 200 female co-operative members drawn fromthe list of 669 selected co-operative members in the villages were selectedthrough a process of stratified random sampling while a total of 110 female noncooperative members and 110 males were selected through systematic random samplingtechnique. Data was gotten from thequestionnaire administered to the samples and from the focus group discussion, other sources was through the documents of the femalecooperative members gotten from the ministry of women affairs and women leadersin each study settlements. Information about the female non co-operativemembers’ and the male respondents was gotten from the village heads andconfirmed through the house to house enumeration of the villages. The datacollected was analysed using descriptive statistics, chi square, Logit modeland correlation statistical tests. The conclusion drawn from the study revealedsignificant difference in access to credits and income of female cooperativemembers and female non cooperative members. The logit model result show that membership ofcooperatives was influential in predicting access of women to credit sourcedfrom government and this was engineered through the activities of developmentofficers of the ministry of women affairs. It is recommended that women shouldbe encouraged to participate in viable cooperative organizations for them tobenefit in development programmes crucial for their socio economic empowerment.Key words: women, gender, rural, credits,co-operatives and empowerment.

Reframing art therapy to meet psychosocial and financial needs in homelessness

Psychosocial and financial factors contribute to homelessness. This study investigated the benefit of addressing financial as well as psychosocial needs in art therapy for people experiencing homelessness. Clients at a community resource center participated in an open studio addressing primarily psychosocial needs such as increased coping skills, and an artists’ cooperative also meeting financial needs through art sales. Participation in the open studio was correlated with life achievement, but artists also in the cooperative attained higher life achievement on average. Interestingly, each visit to the open studio was correlated with a greater increase in life achievement for non-cooperative members. This suggests that the open studio and cooperative may have served different but overlapping groups. Case vignettes illustrate how different programs can work together to best serve people experiencing homelessness.

English

This study was carried out to determine the impact of cooperative society among the fish farmers in Lagos State. A multi stage purposive sampling techniques was used to select five Local Government areas notable for fish farming business. 30 fish farmers were selected from each of the Local Government areas for cooperative society and 30 farmers from non cooperative society having a total of 150 respondents each. A well structured questionnaire was used to obtain information and 130 questionnaires were retrieved each from cooperative and non-cooperative members. Analytical techniques used include descriptive statistics and Tobit regression Analyses. The results show that the mean age of the farmers is 56 and 57 for cooperative and non-cooperative fish farmers, respectively. Majority (83%) and (93%) of the cooperative and non-cooperative fish farmers respectively were males. It was discovered that both farmers have an average of 8 household members. It was revealed that larger percentage of the cooperative fish farmers (50%) used amount N100,000 to N500,000 as the initial investment while (56%) of the non cooperative used the same amount as capital investment. The result of the Tobit regression analysis indicates that gender of farmers is significant at 5%, years of formal education; membership of cooperative and the cost of inputs were significant at 1%. Since majority were producing for profit making, it is suggested in the paper that government should increase the supply of credit to cooperative farmers and embark on enlightenment campaign to increase the participation of rural farmers in cooperative activities. Key words: Impact, cooperative society, fish farming, commercialisation, Lagos State.

PROTOCOL: The Effects Of Economic Self‐Help Group Programs On Women's Empowerment: A Systematic Review

PROTOCOL: The Effects Of Economic Self‐Help Group Programs On Women's Empowerment: A Systematic Review

Socioeconomic Analysis of Rice Farmers and Effects of Group Formation on Rice Production in Ekiti and Ogun States of South-West Nigeria

The study was conducted to determine the impact of farmers’ membership of cooperative societies on rice production. Against the backdrop that the promotion of membership of cooperative society among farmers would give them better access to agricultural inputs and consequently improve their income. Multistage sampling technique was employed to select a total of 310 rice farmers. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, budgetary technique and inferential statistics. The results revealed the mean age of the rice farmers as 48 years. Majority (92%) of the farmers produced upland rice, with a single harvest per year using mainly owned resources. Family labour was the most important source of farm labour in rice cultivation and about 60% of the members of the farm families participated in the family rice farm. The results further showed that 38.9% of rice farmers had primary education, 27.4% had secondary education, while 25.1% had no education. A total of 71% of the rice farmers were members of rice farmers’ cooperative societies, while 29% were not. The average farm size cultivated was 1.72ha and 1.64ha for cooperative and non-cooperative members respectively. The result also showed that there is no significant difference in the gross margin per hectare realized by farmers that were cooperative members (N90, 222) and the non cooperative members (N92, 986). The input-use structure showed that cooperative members were more intensive users of purchased inputs like fertilizer and pesticides valued at N124,555 per ha (about 41% of variable cost) compared to the non cooperative members valued at N57,647 per ha (about 22% of the variable cost). Almost all the groups were established to serve as receptacles for subsidized agricultural services and inputs rather than real producer organizations that seek to attract commercial providers of services and ensure efficient marketing of their farm outputs. Further revelation from the study is the fact that membership of cooperative society was found to be influenced by household size, access to extension services, number of rice farms owned, access of rice farmers to herbicide and quantity of rice output. The non-significant difference in the gross margin of cooperative and non-cooperative members despite the greater intensity of use of purchased inputs (fertilizer and pesticide) by cooperative members suggests the need for monitoring of rice farmers who are cooperators in order to ensure that the substantial inputs are rightly channeled.