With this paper we aim to analyse how new entrepreneurial strategies are emerging in the field of agricultural cooperatives within the Region of Valencia (Spain), and how these strategies are characterised through the lens of the agrarian-based rural development model. Initial results show that these strategies have the potential to strengthen the role of cooperatives in rural economic development as they add value to specific territorial resources, create new ties with other local and nonlocal actors, and diversify the economy of rural areas. Nevertheless, the cooperative (collective) nature of these organisations can also create decision-making and investment problems, as they can divide the interests of their social base.
Farmers' organizations are essential actors in fair trade certification schemes, and therefore in delivering their associated benefits for poor small-scale farmers. However, the dynamics and challenges faced by these cooperative organizations have been largely bypassed in the fair trade literature. In this context, this paper aims to unpack the multiple, coexisting and interwoven marketing channels available for small-scale coffee producers, unveiling potential sources of uncertainty and tensions among competing actors and interests, and identifying and assessing the strategies used by organizations to influence farmers' marketing decisions. The analysis comprises two case studies based in the department of Huehuetenango (Guatemala), where the existence of distinct marketing channels combines with processes of product differentiation, namely organic production. Results show the limitations of standard fair trade mechanisms to secure farmers' engagement with cooperative organizations. Rather, technical advice to improve farming practices and quality construction seem to be a more effective mechanism to govern this collective supply chain. Nevertheless, these strategies could be further constrained by productive and organizational factors, affecting the sustainability of potential benefits delivered by these key collective actors. channels provides unequivocal advantages for small-scale farmers, partly due to the complexity and volatility of the combination of factors that shape individual marketing decisions: relative prices and payment timing, quality requirements and organizations' incentives (see also Valkila and Nygren, 2010).
Source: Authors' elaborationFigure 3. Coffee marketing channels for Guaya'b producers Source: Authors' elaborationFigure 4. Coffee marketing channels for CODECH producers 48 D. Ortiz-Miranda and A. M. Moragues-Faus 9 Even, in some cases, in a context of suspicion. Some interviewees stated that sometimes 'coyotes' had paid with counterfeit money. 52 D. Ortiz-Miranda and A. M. Moragues-Faus
Despite a longstanding literature on small farm-households, there is limited consideration of small farms' role in food and nutrition security (FNS) at territorial level. The purpose of this study is to provide insights about how small farms contribute to FNS at different territorial scales, by focusing on farmers' strategies and consequential FNS outcomes. Analysis is based on two years (2017-2019) of field work done with farmers and food system actors in SALSA reference regions culminating in a workshop done with research partners. We find that small farms deliver food and nutrition security and other socioeconomic and environmental outcomes for the farmhousehold, at local, regional and global levels. The regional level is shown to be critical for small farms, as it provides the scale at which their diversity is realised. Understanding this diversity is a goal for both research and for effective support mechanisms for small farm integration, and the multiple public and private functions small farms can deliver should be higher on the policy agenda.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.