Unique features of agricultural cooperatives in sub-Saharan Africa

Francesconi, Nicola; Wouterse, Fleur; Cook, Michael; Abate, Gashaw Tadesse

doi:10.4337/9781802202618.00039

Handbook of Research on Cooperatives and Mutuals 2023

DOI: 10.4337/9781802202618.00039

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Unique features of agricultural cooperatives in sub-Saharan Africa

Nicola Francesconi¹,

Fleur Wouterse²,

Michael Cook³

et al.

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2024

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Cited by 2 publications

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“…Cooperatives are "autonomous associations of people who get together voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through jointly owned and democratically controlled organizations"(Francesconi & Wouterse, 2011;1). 7 Note, "natural" capital is not included as it is interpreted as a determinant of wellbeing.…”

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Is the fulfilment of objective wellbeing reflected in subjective wellbeing? A case study of vulnerable communities in Volta Delta, Ghana

Cannings,

Hutton,

Sorichetta

et al. 2024

Intnl. J. Wellbeing

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There is growing interest in the measurement and conceptualisation of wellbeing due to its increasing importance within policy outcomes; however, the understanding of how different wellbeing outcomes associate within sustainability research is limited. This paper uses household survey data from the vulnerable Volta Delta, South Ghana, as a case study to illustrate the different philosophical approaches and measures of wellbeing, and the potential impact upon policy interventions. The frequent use of objective wellbeing measures, such as monetary poverty, within development policy is challenged as to whether it sufficiently reflects overall wellbeing. For example, objective monetary measures may not incorporate the intangible components of wellbeing, which can alternatively be captured within individuals’ self-evaluated, subjective wellbeing. This study first outlines the conceptual and methodological choices required when measuring wellbeing, before drawing on ideas of objective and subjective wellbeing to examine whether these concepts from different disciplines align or oppose one another. Contrasting theories within the literature justify this focus. By testing for associations between objective and subjective wellbeing outcomes, this study highlights how the methodological and conceptual choices made when measuring wellbeing can result in differing conclusions. Despite statistically significant associations being found amongst some wellbeing measures, results which show opposing outcomes highlight how subjective and objective wellbeing are not entirely interchangeable. Our study concludes there is a benefit to incorporating both objective and subjective measures in research and development targets across multiple scales to more-comprehensibly capture, and improve our understanding of, human wellbeing in vulnerable locations.

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Is the fulfilment of objective wellbeing reflected in subjective wellbeing? A case study of vulnerable communities in Volta Delta, Ghana

Cannings,

Hutton,

Sorichetta

et al. 2024

Intnl. J. Wellbeing

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Alternative agrifood systems and the economic sustainability of farmers' cooperatives: The Chinese experience

Hu,

Zhang

2024

Sustainable Development

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Most registered farmers' cooperatives in China are de facto private enterprises; while many bring economic gains to farmers, they do not function as cooperatives. Among the small minority that started as authentic cooperatives, however, most struggled to provide economic benefits to members, unable to achieve economic sustainability. The failure of true farmers' cooperatives in China has been widely studied; the success of the few that did become economically sustainable, however, remains poorly understood. Using a sample of 70 farmers' cooperatives across the country and comparing three “extreme cases”—cooperatives that are both authentic and economically successful—with the rest, this study argues that participation in alternative agrifood systems is the key to their success. In the Chinese context, smallholders are deeply integrated into the conventional agrifood system and have gained technology and market access through the mediation of private enterprises and public institutions, leaving little space for cooperatives. Only in alternative agrifood systems, which prioritize product quality and authenticity and value closer relationships between producers and consumers, do cooperatives, as a unique governance institution based on trust, have advantages. Our case analysis shows how cooperatives brought smallholders economic gains and achieved economic sustainability through shifting to ecologically sustainable farming and building alternative distributive networks. This finding adds a new dimension to our understanding of the relationship between smallholder cooperatives and sustainable development: in capitalist agrifood systems, ecologically sustainable agrifood alternatives provide the basis for cooperatives' social and economic sustainability.

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Unique features of agricultural cooperatives in sub-Saharan Africa

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Is the fulfilment of objective wellbeing reflected in subjective wellbeing? A case study of vulnerable communities in Volta Delta, Ghana

Is the fulfilment of objective wellbeing reflected in subjective wellbeing? A case study of vulnerable communities in Volta Delta, Ghana

Alternative agrifood systems and the economic sustainability of farmers' cooperatives: The Chinese experience

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