Coffee, Co-operatives and Competition

Coffee, Co-operatives and Competition PDF Author: Anna Milford
Publisher:
ISBN: 9788280620811
Category : Coffee growers
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description

Coffee, Co-operatives and Competition

Coffee, Co-operatives and Competition PDF Author: Anna Milford
Publisher:
ISBN: 9788280620811
Category : Coffee growers
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description


Cooperatives, the State, and Corporate Power in African Export Agriculture

Cooperatives, the State, and Corporate Power in African Export Agriculture PDF Author: KARIN. WEDIG
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 9780367660543
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
Agriculture is a major contributor to Africa's GDP, the region's biggest source of employment and its largest food producer. However, agricultural productivity remains low and buyer-driven global value chains offer few opportunities for small producers to upgrade into higher value-added activities. In recent years, the revival of Africa's cooperatives has been celebrated by governments and international donors as a pathway towards inclusive agricultural development, and this book explores the strengths but also the issues which surround these cooperatives. The book scrutinizes the neoliberal ideal of economic prosperity arising through the operation of liberalized labor markets by illuminating the discriminatory nature of Uganda's informal labor relations. It points to the role of cooperatives as a potential instrument of progressive change in African export agriculture, where large numbers of small producers depend on casual wage work in addition to farming. In contrast to the portrayal, advanced by some governments and rarely questioned by donors, of an unproblematic co-existence of small producers' collective action and big capital interests, the author calls for a re-politicized debate on the Social and Solidarity Economy. As part of this, she highlights the adverse political and economic conditions faced by African cooperatives, including intense international competition in agricultural processing, inadequate access to infrastructure and services, and at times antagonistic state-cooperative relations. Supported by wide-ranging interdisciplinary evidence, including new ethnographic, survey and interview data, this book shows how cooperatives may be co-opted by both the state and corporations in a discourse that ignores structural inequalities in value chains and emphasizes poverty reduction over economic and political empowerment. It provides a critique of New Institutional Economics as a framework for understanding how institutions shape redistribution, and develops a political economy approach to explore the conditions for structural change in African export agriculture.

The Cooperative Movement

The Cooperative Movement PDF Author: Richard C. Williams
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131703726X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
Richard Williams surveys the history of the cooperative movement from its origins in the 18th century and deals with the theory of cooperation, as contrasted with the 'Standard Economic Model', based on competition. The book contains the results of field studies of a number of successful cooperatives both in the developed and developing world. It includes insights from personal interviews of cooperative members and concludes by considering the successes and challenges of the cooperative movement as an alternative to the global neo-colonialism and imperialism that now characterizes free-market capitalist approaches to globalization. The book considers democratic and local control of essential economic activities such as the production, distribution, and retailing of goods and services. It suggests that cooperative approaches to these economic activities are already reducing poverty and resulting in equitable distributions of wealth and income without plundering the resources of developing countries.

Coffee certification in East Africa: impact on farms, families and cooperatives

Coffee certification in East Africa: impact on farms, families and cooperatives PDF Author: Ruerd Ruben
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9086868053
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
Certification of coffee producers is frequently suggested as a promising strategy for improving the position of smallholder farmers in the market. After the launch of the first Fairtrade label in 1988, several other standards have been promoted either by voluntary agencies (Utz-certified) or by private coffee companies. Each coffee label relies on different strategies for enhancing sustainable production and responsible trade. Coffee certification in East Africa is of a rather recent nature but has been rapidly expanding, representing currently 26 percent of the world's sustainable certified coffee supply. Marketing channels, cooperative organisation and household structures show notable differences between Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia. Empirical studies on the effects of standards for smallholders are scarce. This book intends to deepen our understanding on the role and functions of coffee certification regimes, based on three innovative approaches: (1) longitudinal field survey data capturing changes in coffee farming systems and effects on household welfare; (2) in-depth interviews and behavioural experiments regarding risk attitudes, trust and investments at cooperative level; and (3) detailed discourse analyses regarding gender roles and female bargaining power within coffee households. The chapters included in this book provide new and original evidence about the impact of coffee certification based on large-scale field surveys and in-depth interviews.

Decentralization and the Social Economics of Development

Decentralization and the Social Economics of Development PDF Author: Christopher Brendan Barrett
Publisher: CABI
ISBN: 1845932706
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
There has been broad agreement in recent years that decentralization is key in achieving democracy at local level. Examining the successes, failures, possibilities and limitations of efforts across rural Kenya, this book analyses the socioeconomic and institutional prerequisites for successful decentralization, and the role of community groups and producer organizations in reducing poverty and promoting empowerment. Original empirical studies explore the fundamental elements of coherent, inclusive and ultimately effective decentralization, and how these can be applied to efforts across the African continent and beyond.

Fair Trade

Fair Trade PDF Author:
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134002637
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description


Cooperatives in the Global Economy

Cooperatives in the Global Economy PDF Author: Tapas R. Dash
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1498555233
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
Cooperatives in the Global Economy presents a unique collection of research-based chapters contributed by leading social and economic thinkers that provide critical insights into how the cooperative business model meets the challenges of the complex global problems in today’s competitive economy. Apart from theoretical arguments in favor of the value-based cooperative business model, this book presents the performance indicators of various forms of cooperatives, their potentialities, and challenges they face across borders. The contributors reexamine how cooperatives empower the marginalized population of the world by bringing them into the mainstream of socio-economic activities through creating employment opportunities, working towards alleviation of poverty, ensuring for more equitable distribution of scarce resources, and providing the basis for a sustainable economy and its meaningful growth. Today, in the global competitive economy, the challenges for cooperatives are enormous due to their particular value commitments, forms of incorporation, and organizational structures. In spite of the presence of several challenges, cooperatives promote economic growth and social justice. In this context, this book also presents the critical roles of cooperatives in balancing economic, social, and environmental concerns to build a better, equitable, and sustainable world.

Cooperation for competition

Cooperation for competition PDF Author: Gian Nicola Francesconi
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9086866549
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
Throughout history, rural smallholders have formed various forms of associations to confront access-barriers to the market. It is estimated that 250 million farmers participate in agricultural cooperatives in developing countries. Agricultural cooperatives are considered to be a fundamental pillar of rural development strategies, as well as a core institution in the process of governance decentralization and agri-business development. In Ethiopia, where agro-ecological conditions are generally favourable, 85 percent of the national population lives in rural areas under subsistence or semi-subsistence regimes. Agricultural cooperatives are advocated by the government as key market institutions to exploit Ethiopia's agricultural growth potential. The scope of this study is to improve the understanding of the role played by cooperative organizations in linking Ethiopian smallholder farmers to emerging markets. Through exploring the evolution of supermarkets, integrated supply chains, and global commodity exchange networks, this study sheds light on the relationship between rural cooperation and farmers' competitiveness. Quantitative data that form the basis for this study were collected from the Highland regions of Ethiopia, in the period between 2003 and 2006. Findings suggest that cooperatives are not a panacea to boost rural competitiveness. Collective action assists smallholders in procuring state subsidy for production, but does not necessarily lead to increased commercialization. Only when collective action involves collective marketing do farmers become more commercial, further improving production volumes and productivity. However, in the process of commercialization and production intensification quality management is often neglected in Ethiopian agricultural cooperatives. This study reveals guidelines for public-private partnerships so that cooperative farmers can maximize commercialization and optimize the balance between quality and productivity.

Cooperatives, the State, and Corporate Power in African Export Agriculture

Cooperatives, the State, and Corporate Power in African Export Agriculture PDF Author: Karin Wedig
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351629476
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 231

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Book Description
Agriculture is a major contributor to Africa’s GDP, the region’s biggest source of employment and its largest food producer. However, agricultural productivity remains low and buyer-driven global value chains offer few opportunities for small producers to upgrade into higher value-added activities. In recent years, the revival of Africa’s cooperatives has been celebrated by governments and international donors as a pathway towards inclusive agricultural development, and this book explores the strengths but also the issues which surround these cooperatives. The book scrutinizes the neoliberal ideal of economic prosperity arising through the operation of liberalized labor markets by illuminating the discriminatory nature of Uganda’s informal labor relations. It points to the role of cooperatives as a potential instrument of progressive change in African export agriculture, where large numbers of small producers depend on casual wage work in addition to farming. In contrast to the portrayal, advanced by some governments and rarely questioned by donors, of an unproblematic co-existence of small producers’ collective action and big capital interests, the author calls for a re-politicized debate on the Social and Solidarity Economy. As part of this, she highlights the adverse political and economic conditions faced by African cooperatives, including intense international competition in agricultural processing, inadequate access to infrastructure and services, and at times antagonistic state-cooperative relations. Supported by wide-ranging interdisciplinary evidence, including new ethnographic, survey and interview data, this book shows how cooperatives may be co-opted by both the state and corporations in a discourse that ignores structural inequalities in value chains and emphasizes poverty reduction over economic and political empowerment. It provides a critique of New Institutional Economics as a framework for understanding how institutions shape redistribution, and develops a political economy approach to explore the conditions for structural change in African export agriculture.

Globalization and Global Justice

Globalization and Global Justice PDF Author: Nicole Hassoun
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107010306
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
This book shows how globalization shrinks distance, thereby expanding international obligations to aid the poor and make free trade fair.