Performance Of Agricultural Cooperatives Research Articles

Performance of Agricultural Cooperatives and The Problems They Encounter in Egypt

Performance of Agricultural Cooperatives and The Problems They Encounter in Egypt

Moderating role of trust in the relationship between corporate governance and performance of agricultural cooperatives in Nigeria

This study aims to identify the moderating construct of trust in the performance of agricultural cooperatives in North-Western Nigeria. Business management cannot be overseen by the owner alone; it may require the services of other professionals. However, the high incidence of corrupt practices in the public and private sectors in developing African countries cripples many businesses. It makes it difficult to entrust the management of organisations to a third party. Trust is essential, especially in an environment with a loose execution of legal charges. Although a direct relationship between corporate governance and performance has been established across many disciplines, the influence of trust as an interactive construct has yet to be established. Therefore, this study addresses this gap. This study used concurrent triangulation design with a significant quantitative approach complemented by the qualitative segment involving seven open-ended questions. Data were collected from 384 cooperative for rice farmer’s by used of a survey design. Structural Equation Modelling was used to assess the measurement model to test the hypotheses. An Excel spreadsheet was used to pre-code the data derived from open-ended questions, and later exported to ATLAS.ti software for qualitative analysis through coding, group coding and network. The findings revealed that corporate governance and trust significantly influenced agricultural cooperative performance. The moderating effect of trust on corporate governance was supported. The findings illustrate how social capital theory explains the processes of African trust, especially in corrupt environments with weak legal penalties. This study examines corporate governance within the internal control mechanisms of an agricultural cooperative society. Further studies should understand corporate governance within an external tie. To our knowledge this is the first study to examine the moderating effect of trust on the interacting variables in the African social capital theory model.

Factors That Influence the Intention of Smallholder Rice Farmers to Adopt Cleaner Production Practices: An Empirical Study of Precision Agriculture Adoption.

Sustainable agriculture is crucial for achieving SDG2 and building a resilient climate-food system. This study provides a nuanced understanding of factors that influence the adoption of precision agriculture technology by Vietnamese smallholder rice farmers as a sustainable agricultural solution. The study's objectives are: (1) to provide a nuanced understanding of factors that influence adoption of precision agriculture technology by Vietnamese smallholder rice farmers; and (2) to identify factors associated with agricultural practice in Vietnam that may impact the adoption of precision agriculture technology. The study conducted 35 semi-structured interviews with smallholder rice farmers and agriculture experts. Data were analyzed using iterative thematic analysis. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model was used for empirical analysis. The UTAUT constructs of Performance expectancy, Effort expectancy, Government support, and Social influence were found to be determinants of adoption. Trialability and Observability impact Effort expectancy and Performance expectancy. We also discovered that the performance of agricultural cooperatives and support of lead firms play a crucial role in facilitating agricultural technology adoption by Vietnamese smallholder rice farmers. The results confirm the applicability of UTAUT in defining smallholders' behavioural intention and predicting agricultural technology adoption. The study also provides constructive feedback on the UTAUT model by highlighting the effect of agricultural cooperatives' performance as innovation intermediaries and of the support of lead firms.

Female leadership, internet use, and performance of agricultural cooperatives in Vietnam

AbstractSupporting agricultural cooperatives might contribute to the livelihood improvement of many small‐scale farmers in developing countries. This research examines the factors affecting the internet use of agricultural cooperatives with a focus on female leadership, its effects on cooperatives’ economic, social, and innovative performance, and the distributional effects of internet use on economic performance. Our analysis relied on the data of 3,512 agricultural cooperatives collected in 2021 from Vietnam. We addressed the endogeneity issue of internet use in impact assessment by employing an instrumental variable approach. Our results show that female leadership was positively and significantly associated with internet use and that internet use had a positive and significant effect on returns on assets, returns on equity, labor productivity, payment per laborer, contribution to labor union and insurance per laborer, and innovation in products of agricultural cooperatives. In addition, unconditional quantile regressions show that internet use in agricultural cooperatives exacerbated income inequality. Enhancing female leadership and promoting rural education were recommended to improve agricultural cooperatives’ performance.

The influence of intangible resources on the performance of agricultural cooperatives

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between intellectual capital (IC), which is represented by structural capital (SC), relational capital [RC], and human capital (HC), and member participation (MP) and performance within the context of agricultural cooperatives. This study employs a survey technique involving 104 palm oil smallholders’ cooperatives in Peninsular Malaysia, and the data are analyzed through the partial least squares (PLS) technique. The results indicate that MP and RC have a significant direct relationship with cooperatives’ financial performance. Simultaneously, MP also has a direct and significant relationship with the cooperatives’ non-financial performance. This proves that MP is the most important intangible resource that determines the cooperatives’ financial and non-financial performance. Members’ cooperation contributes through active involvement and sharing of constructive ideas, while RC contributes to the competitive advantages in cooperatives' business dealings. Meanwhile, SC and HC have non-significant relationships with cooperative performance. The findings confirm the postulation of the RBV that internal resources are useful to gain superior performance in the marketplace. Therefore, management of agricultural cooperatives must maintain good relationships with their members and relevant constituencies to ensure sustainable performance.

Corporate Governance and Performance in agricultural co-operatives in Brazil

The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between the adoption of corporate governance practices and the performance of agricultural co-operatives in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The document analysis was based on bylaws and meeting minutes from 2012 to 2014, from a sample of 21 co-operatives, totaling 84 documents. In order to assess the level of corporate governance we compared the co-operatives’ documents to the 40 recommendations proposed by the Brazilian Co-operatives Organization (OCB, 2016). These are distributed in 5 major areas: i) members and the general assembly; ii) management board; iii) supervisory board; iv) advisory bodies and audit; and v) ombudsman and co-operatives’ relationship with their members. The theoretical presupposition is that the adoption of corporate governance aligns the interests of the co-operatives and their members, which minimizes agency conflicts. To that end, we assumed the following theoretical precepts of the agency theory: i) monitoring, and ii) incentives. The results showed that the majority of governance practices recommended are related to the “management board” area, while those most adopted by the co-operatives are related to the dimension “members and general assembly”—which are strongly related to monitoring efforts. Considering the totality of recommendations proposed by OCB, only two have been 100% adopted by the co-operatives. The results show a low level of corporate governance in agriculture co-ops in Mato Grosso do Sul. We conclude that there is still a long way to go until governance practices become a mechanism to minimize agency conflicts.

Government Policy and Performance of Agricultural Cooperatives: A Case Study in Chitwan District, Nepal

Agricultural cooperatives are producer-owned and controlled organizations to improve farmers’ livelihoods by correcting market failure. They support collective activities where individual incentives are insufficient to produce public goods. The government of Nepal has been investing economic resources in this sector, prioritizing cooperatives as part of a strategy for poverty reduction. This study examines poor farmers’ access to agricultural cooperatives and the impact of membership on farm and total household income, based on a household survey of 572 households and key informant interviews of 37 cooperative managers. The ethnicity of the family and the neighborhood, smallholder land size, distance to an agricultural cooperative, distance to the nearest local market, and distance to a motorable road are key determinants that influence cooperative membership. The analysis of the effects of cooperative membership is based on propensity score matching, controlling for a large array of household and community characteristics. The estimates imply that cooperative membership may significantly affect family net crop income, but the overall effects on total family income are modest. Agricultural cooperatives appear to be focused on financial services such as savings and credit activities but are less concerned with agricultural production, and cooperatives engage in almost no marketing activities.

Community‐level social capital and agricultural cooperatives: Evidence from Hebei, China

AbstractThis paper explores the relationships between five aspects of community‐level social capital and the formation and performance of agricultural cooperatives, based on an investigation of 50 rural villages in Hebei, China. Results show that trust and informal sociability relate positively to either cooperative formation or performance, whereas local network is negatively related to both formation and performance. It is therefore recommended that policy makers leverage publicity channels and financial tools to encourage and stimulate trust, enhance the effectiveness of intervillage communication, and work out a collaborative mechanism between local networks and agricultural cooperatives. [EconLit Citations: Q13, P32]

Influence of Competitive Aggressiveness on Performance of Agricultural Co-Operatives in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

The purpose of the study was to analyze the influence of competitive aggressiveness on performance of agricultural co-operatives in Uasin Gishu County. The study was guided by the objective to establish the influence of competitive aggressiveness on performance of co-operative societies in Uasin Gishu County. The study was also guided by the Situational Leadership theory in discussing competitive aggressiveness as a construct of Entrepreneurial Orientation. This study adopted a descriptive research design to understand the influence of proactiveness on performance. The study area was in Uasin Gishu County in Kenya with approximate target population of 414 staff in 63 registered agricultural co-operatives. Stratified sampling technique was used to select a sample of 203 respondents. Primary data was collected by quantitative methods. Pilot testing was carried out to test the validity and reliability of the instruments. Regression analysis was used for the analysis of the quantitative data, where data was then represented in descriptive tables and inferential form. Relationships between different variables were analyzed using a regression model. The study concluded that competitive aggressiveness was significant. It has an influence on performance of co-operatives in Uasin Gishu County. The findings from this study would be useful to policy makers, researchers, development planners and Uasin Gishu County, in the attempt to achieve entrepreneurship development which is crucial to attainment of Vision 2030.

Assessing the Impact of Corporate Governance on Performance: A Case Study of Agricultural Co-operatives in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

This study focuses on examining the relationship between corporate governance practices and the performance of agricultural co-operatives in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The primary objective is to address agency conflicts within co-operatives by investigating the extent to which corporate governance practices align the interests of co-operatives and their members. The research approach involved a document analysis using the bylaws and meeting minutes of 21 co-operatives, totaling 84 documents. The assessment of corporate governance levels was based on a comparison with the 40 recommendations proposed by the Brazilian Co-operatives Organization (OCB, 2016), categorized into five major areas. The study is grounded in agency theory, particularly focusing on monitoring and incentives as key aspects. The findings reveal that the majority of recommended governance practices are concentrated in the "management board" area, while the co-operatives' most adopted practices are related to the "members and general assembly" dimension, which primarily involves monitoring efforts. However, when considering the full set of OCB's recommendations, only two were fully implemented by the co-operatives. These results indicate a low level of corporate governance in agricultural co-operatives in Mato Grosso do Sul.

Efficiency and Profitability Analysis of Agricultural Cooperatives in Mpumalanga, South Africa

Agricultural cooperatives are expected to generate sustainable profit as they are established as a vehicle of economic development. Efficiency and profitability analysis measures the performance of a firm, and assists management in decision-making through benchmarking with other firms (Marwa & Aziakpono, 2014). To understand the performance of agricultural cooperatives, our study analysed efficiency and profitability using an efficiency-profitability matrix to provide for multi-dimensional analysis. The study used secondary data from annual financial statements for the financial years 2015/16 collected from 19 agricultural cooperatives. Technical efficiency was estimated using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and profitability was estimated using Returns on Assets (ROA). The median scores were 68% for technical efficiency and 10% for profitability. Using the 68% efficiency and 10% profitability benchmark, the matrix separated best performers from low performers. The matrix indicated that 26% of the cooperatives had high-efficiency levels with high profitability (stars), however there was an even distribution between the stars and sleepers: 5 out of 19 cooperatives were sleepers and 5 out of 19 were stars. The majority of the decision-making units (DMUs) at 42% (8 out of 19) are in quadrant 3, categorised as ‘question mark’. These DMUs had low-efficiency scores and low profitability ratios. Only 1 out of 19 cooperatives had high-efficiency levels and low profitability scores. The results demonstrate that technically efficient firms do not always translate to profitable firms: in this regard, management needs to investigate how best to allocate resources in order to remain relevant within the business context and competition. Policy makers need to investigate other drivers of efficiency and profitability when measuring the performance of a firm to influence future policy directives.

Analysis of Constraints of Rural Beef Cattle Cooperative Farmers: A Case Study of Ga-kibi, Norma and Mogalakwena in Blouberg

Agricultural co-operatives are tools used to accelerate the process of agricultural development. Co-operatives in South Africa are useful tools used to assuage poverty and improve the living standard of the rural household through pooling together the available resources. There is emerging evidence that beef cooperatives and their members can benefit from market oriented agriculture when smallholders farmers are integrated into the value chain management. Furthermore, institutional provisions along the value chain and policies seldom prioritize the needs of smallholder farmers and thus increased the barriers to production and market access. The purpose of this study is to evaluate production and marketing constraints as perceived by beef cattle cooperative farmers in Ga-kibi, Norma, and Mogalakwena. The specific objectives of the study were: (i) to assess production and marketing constraints of beef farmers’ cooperative; and (ii) to determine the role of speculators (traders) in marketing of beef cattle. The paper succinctly examines the tottering problems of speculators and concomitant contribution in the marketing of beef animals in the study areas. The study adduces some reasons for the poor performance of beef co-operatives in achieving their goal. These include amongst others: problem of pest and diseases, water stress, inadequate marketing infrastructures, insufficient market access, price fixing of culled stocks, labour and stock pilfering. Logistic regression was used to evaluate perception of constraints by beef cooperative farmers’. The response pattern revealed that the ability of farmers to perceive constraints increases with number of years of farming experience. The study concludes with proposals to improve the performance of agricultural co-operatives in the study areas.

An Analysis of Factors Affecting Performance of Agricultural Cooperatives' Marketing Activities

An Analysis of Factors Affecting Performance of Agricultural Cooperatives' Marketing Activities

Post‐merger performance of agricultural cooperatives

During the 1990s, the rate of consolidation among agricultural cooperatives, including mergers, acquisitions, strategic alliances, and joint ventures, increased significantly. While post‐merger performance has been examined extensively for investor‐owned firms, this has not been the case for agricultural cooperatives, primarily because these firms do not have an explicit profit motive or publicly traded stock. Results from a two‐stage econometric model reveal that a major motivation for cooperatives to engage in these activities is to circumvent capital constraints. Furthermore, the decision to merge and financial performance are jointly endogenous, with profitability positively influenced and sales growth negatively influenced by the likelihood of merger.

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO POOR PERFORMANCE OF AGRICULTURAL CO-OPERATIVES IN LESS DEVELOPED AREAS / Faktore wat bydra tot die swak prestasie van landboukoöperasies in minder ontwikkelde gebiede

Abstract Agricultural co-operatives are instruments used to accelerate the process of agricultural development in less developed countries. Co-operatives in less developed areas of South Africa have not, with a few exceptions, been successful in fostering agricultural development and improving the level of living of the rural poor. The paper provides some explanations for the failure of co-operatives to achieve these goals. These include: lack of membership's identity with co-operatives; lack of understanding on the part of members of the co-operative way of doing things; failure of co-operatives to compete with other businesses; inability of members to dismiss inefficient management; failure of co-operatives to provide transportation; inability of co-operatives to keep adequate stocks of requisites; insufficient credit; and the Subsistence nature of agriculture. The study concludes with proposals to improve the performance of agricultural co-operatives in less developed areas of South Africa.