An Assessment of New Farmers’ Perceptions About Agricultural Cooperatives

Abstract

The Common Agricultural Policy pays particular attention to the decline of young farmers in the European Union. For this reason, plenty of different policy measures and motives for new entrants in agriculture there have been established. The main objectives of this paper are to investigate the characteristics of new farmers according to their participation in Agricultural Cooperatives and to identify what makes new farmers participate (or not) in Agricultural Cooperatives. Both research questions will advance the knowledge of policy makers and practitioners on new farmers’ expectations and perceptions and through them, to come to distinctive conclusions about the measures and the actions needed to promote agricultural cooperatives as a viable solution for new entrants in the agricultural sector. For this reason, a survey was conducted in different regions of Greece (northern, central and southern) during an educational course designed for new farmers. More specifically, a structured questionnaire was developed and distributed among 250 new farmers participating in the measure 112 ‘Setting up of young farmers’ (Common Agricultural Policy, Pillar II). The results of the survey indicate low trust in the cooperative organization, leading to low rates of active participation and commitment to agricultural cooperatives.

Mapping the Market Segments for the Consumers of Greek Cooperative Food Products

“…Of particular importance is that Greek agricultural cooperatives can play an important role since they can improve the social and financial situations of both their members and the local communities in which they operate and develop their business activities [14]. Cooperatives can strengthen farmers' bargaining power, constitute an important driver of rural development, and substantially contribute to the financial viability of rural areas, especially in the less favored regions of Greece [15].…”

New entrants policy into agriculture: researching new farmers’ satisfaction

“…However, there is only partial participation in such policy schemes. In some cases, the young farmers have no access to the aid or the participation conditions to the policy are prohibitive (Kontogeorgos et al, 2017). In many cases, there are not enough economic resources to cover the demand for involving to the measures of the programs.…”

“…European Union (EU) faces a steady decline in the number of agricultural holdings and farmers, responsible for a subsequent critical decrease in the number of new farmers (NF). Although several series of EU policies have been developed in attempt to reverse this situation, the "young farmer problem" remains an issue of major importance in European agriculture (European Parliament, 2014;Kontogeorgos et al, 2017). Recent data estimated a slight percentage of only 5,94% of the EU farms managed by farmers younger than 35 years old, whereas old farmers manage more than 54% of the EU farms.…”

Agricultural cooperatives remaining competitive in a globalised food system: At what cost to members, the cooperative movement and food sustainability?

“…Cooperatives are four times more likely to be described as ‘fair’ and ‘honest’ compared to public limited companies (Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias, 2013; Wilson and MacLean, 2012). However, ACs offer a not so clear picture (Berthelot, 2012; Kontogeorgos et al, 2017). At first sight, ACs present quite radical and anti-capitalist features, including allowing members to make savings by collectively purchasing inputs and paying for expensive infrastructure individual farmers would not be able to afford on their own, as well as accessing training and shared policy and agronomy advice (Bijman et al, 2012).…”