IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/annpce/v92y2021i2p207-231.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Beyond focus: Exploring variability of service provision of agricultural cooperatives

Author

Listed:
  • Kifle T. Sebhatu
  • Fatemeh Taheri
  • Tekeste Berhanu
  • Miet Maertens
  • Steven Van Passel
  • Marijke D'Haese

Abstract

The wide array of services provided by agricultural cooperatives for their members is often not considered in academic studies. Addressing this gap in the literature, our paper explores the wide array of services provided by agricultural cooperatives and how these extend beyond those they were initially intended to provide. We study the extent and characteristics of service portfolios from 511 agricultural cooperatives in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Results from two‐limit Tobit models confirm that government and NGO‐initiated cooperatives have a wide service portfolio compared to member‐initiated cooperatives. In many of the studied cooperatives, the services they provide and their portfolios are more diverse than expected. Cooperatives seem to go beyond their focal areas of intervention. Also, those cooperatives that are more outward‐oriented and where the chair has contact with other cooperatives or businesses, have a wider service portfolio. These results may help to explain the mixed findings on the impact of cooperative membership.

Suggested Citation

  • Kifle T. Sebhatu & Fatemeh Taheri & Tekeste Berhanu & Miet Maertens & Steven Van Passel & Marijke D'Haese, 2021. "Beyond focus: Exploring variability of service provision of agricultural cooperatives," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 92(2), pages 207-231, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:annpce:v:92:y:2021:i:2:p:207-231
    DOI: 10.1111/apce.12301
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/apce.12301
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/apce.12301?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Karunakaran, R & Huka, R, 2018. "Leadership skills in primary multipurpose cooperative societies in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 31(1).
    2. Bernard, Tanguy & Gabre-Madhin, Eleni Z. & Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum, 2008. "Heterogeneous Impacts Of Cooperatives On Smallholders’ Commercialization Behavior: Evidence From Ethiopia," 2007 Second International Conference, August 20-22, 2007, Accra, Ghana 52161, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    3. Hailu, Getu & Weersink, Alfons & Minten, Bart J., 2015. "Rural Organizations, Agricultural Technologies and Production Efficiency of Teff in Ethiopia," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 211702, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Ellen Verhofstadt & Miet Maertens, 2014. "Smallholder cooperatives and agricultural performance in Rwanda: do organizational differences matter?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 45(S1), pages 39-52, November.
    5. Jason R. V. Franken & Michael L. Cook, 2015. "Informing Measurement of Cooperative Performance," Springer Books, in: Josef Windsperger & Gérard Cliquet & Thomas Ehrmann & Georg Hendrikse (ed.), Interfirm Networks, edition 127, pages 209-226, Springer.
    6. Wanglin Ma & Awudu Abdulai, 2018. "IPM adoption, cooperative membership and farm economic performance," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(2), pages 218-236, September.
    7. Claude Ménard (ed.), 2000. "Institutions, Contracts and Organizations," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1921.
    8. Abebaw, Degnet & Haile, Mekbib G., 2013. "The impact of cooperatives on agricultural technology adoption: Empirical evidence from Ethiopia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 82-91.
    9. Catherine Ragasa & Jennifer Golan, 2014. "The role of rural producer organizations for agricultural service provision in fragile states," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 45(5), pages 537-553, September.
    10. Xuchu Xu & Ke Shao & Qiao Liang & Hongdong Guo & Jia Lu & Zuhui Huang, 2013. "Entry of Chinese Small Farmers into Big Markets," Chinese Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(1), pages 7-19, January.
    11. Huppi, Monika & Feder, Gershon, 1990. "The Role of Groups and Credit Cooperatives in Rural Lending," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 5(2), pages 187-204, July.
    12. Bernard, Tanguy & Collion, Marie-Hélène & de Janvry, Alain & Rondot, Pierre & Sadoulet, Elisabeth, 2008. "Do Village Organizations Make a Difference in African Rural Development? A Study for Senegal and Burkina Faso," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 2188-2204, November.
    13. Bernard, Tanguy & Spielman, David J. & Seyoum Taffesse, Alemayehu & Gabre-Madhin, Eleni Z., 2010. "Cooperatives for staple crop marketing: Evidence from Ethiopia," Research reports 164, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    14. Hao, Jinghui & Bijman, Jos & Gardebroek, Cornelis & Heerink, Nico & Heijman, Wim & Huo, Xuexi, 2018. "Cooperative membership and farmers’ choice of marketing channels – Evidence from apple farmers in Shaanxi and Shandong Provinces, China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 53-64.
    15. Zuhui Huang & Yuzhi Fu & Qiao Liang & Yu Song & Xuchu Xu, 2013. "The Efficiency of Agricultural Marketing Cooperatives in China's Zhejiang Province," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(3-5), pages 272-282, April.
    16. Wanglin Ma & Awudu Abdulai, 2017. "The economic impacts of agricultural cooperatives on smallholder farmers in rural China," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(4), pages 537-551, September.
    17. Yongqing Nan & Yanyan Gao & Qin Zhou, 2018. "Rural credit cooperatives’ contribution to agricultural growth: evidence from China," Agricultural Finance Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 79(1), pages 119-135, September.
    18. Jo Thori Lind & Halvor Mehlum, 2010. "With or Without U? The Appropriate Test for a U‐Shaped Relationship," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 72(1), pages 109-118, February.
    19. Ji, Chen & Jin, Songqing & Wang, Haitao & Ye, Chunhui, 2019. "Estimating effects of cooperative membership on farmers’ safe production behaviors: Evidence from pig sector in China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 231-245.
    20. repec:ilo:ilowps:445405 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Chagwiza, Clarietta & Muradian, Roldan & Ruben, Ruerd, 2016. "Cooperative membership and dairy performance among smallholders in Ethiopia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 165-173.
    22. J. Windsperger & Gérard Cliquet & Thomas Ehrmann & G. Hendrikse, 2015. "Interfirm Networks. Franchising, Cooperatives and Strategic Alliances," Post-Print halshs-01117249, HAL.
    23. Wanglin Ma & Awudu Abdulai & Renan Goetz, 2018. "Agricultural Cooperatives and Investment in Organic Soil Amendments and Chemical Fertilizer in China," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 100(2), pages 502-520.
    24. Ma, Wanglin & Zhou, Xiaoshi & Renwick, Alan, 2019. "Impact of off-farm income on household energy expenditures in China: Implications for rural energy transition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 248-258.
    25. Pollet, Ignace., 2009. "Cooperatives in Africa : the age of reconstruction: synthesis of a survey in nine African countries," ILO Working Papers 994454053402676, International Labour Organization.
    26. Mensah, Edouard R. & Karantininis, Kostas & Adegbidi, Anselme & Okello, Julius Juma, 2012. "Determinants of Commitment to Agricultural Cooperatives: Cashew Nuts Farmers in Benin," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 125946, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    27. Abdulai, Abdul-Nafeo & Abdulai, Awudu, 2017. "Examining the impact of conservation agriculture on environmental efficiency among maize farmers in Zambia," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(2), pages 177-201, April.
    28. Tanguy Bernard & Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse & Eleni Gabre‐Madhin, 2008. "Impact of cooperatives on smallholders' commercialization behavior: evidence from Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 39(2), pages 147-161, September.
    29. Wanyama, Fredrick. & Develtere, Patrick. & Pollet, Ignace., 2009. "Reinventing the wheel? African cooperatives in a liberalized economic environment," ILO Working Papers 995017393002676, International Labour Organization.
    30. Liu, Yuying & Renwick, Alan & Fu, Xinhong, 2019. "The role of agricultural cooperatives in serving as a marketing channel: evidence from low-income regions of Sichuan province in China," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 22(2).
    31. Pollet, Ignace., 2009. "Cooperatives in Africa the age of reconstruction: synthesis of a survey in nine African countries," ILO Working Papers 995016790602676, International Labour Organization.
    32. Franken, Jason R.V. & Cook, Michael L., 2013. "Impact of Board Structure and Process on Cooperative Performance," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 149420, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    33. Hellin, Jon & Lundy, Mark & Meijer, Madelon, 2009. "Farmer organization, collective action and market access in Meso-America," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 16-22, February.
    34. Wanyama, Fredrick O. & Develtere, Patrick. & Pollet, Ignace., 2009. "Reinventing the wheel? : African cooperatives in a liberalized economic environment," ILO Working Papers 994346793402676, International Labour Organization.
    35. repec:ilo:ilowps:434679 is not listed on IDEAS
    36. Fredrick O. Wanyama & Patrick Develtere & Ignace Pollet, 2009. "Reinventing The Wheel? African Cooperatives In A Liberalized Economic Environment," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 80(3), pages 361-392, September.
    37. Ma, Wanglin & Abdulai, Awudu, 2016. "Does cooperative membership improve household welfare? Evidence from apple farmers in China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 94-102.
    38. Ezatollah Karami & Kurosh Rezaei‐Moghaddam, 2005. "Modeling determinants of agricultural production cooperatives' performance in Iran," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 33(3), pages 305-314, November.
    39. Shumeta, Zekarias & D'Haese, Marijke, 2016. "Do coffee cooperatives benefit farmers? An exploration of heterogeneous impact of coffee cooperative membership in Southwest Ethiopia," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 19(4), August.
    40. Fischer, Elisabeth & Qaim, Matin, 2012. "Linking Smallholders to Markets: Determinants and Impacts of Farmer Collective Action in Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 1255-1268.
    41. Benjamin Sahel & Antonio Scalia & Luana Zaccaria, 2021. "Career concerns and peer effects in institutional tournaments: Evidence from ECB reserve currency portfolios," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 50(1), pages 47-73, March.
    42. Jasper GRASHUIS & Ye SU, 2019. "A Review Of The Empirical Literature On Farmer Cooperatives: Performance, Ownership And Governance, Finance, And Member Attitude," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 90(1), pages 77-102, March.
    43. Gian Nicola Francesconi & Nico Heerink, 2011. "Ethiopian Agricultural Cooperatives in an Era of Global Commodity Exchange: Does Organisational Form Matter?," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 20(1), pages 153-177, January.
    44. Bernard, Tanguy & Spielman, David J., 2009. "Reaching the rural poor through rural producer organizations? A study of agricultural marketing cooperatives in Ethiopia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 60-69, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Imad Jabbouri & Rachid Jabbouri & Karim Bahoum & Yasmine El Hajjaji, 2023. "E‐commerce adoption among Moroccan agricultural cooperatives: Between structural challenges and immense business performance potential," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(4), pages 1145-1171, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Margitta Minah, 2022. "What is the influence of government programs on farmer organizations and their impacts? Evidence from Zambia," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(1), pages 29-53, March.
    2. Huma Neupane & Krishna P. Paudel & Mandeep Adhikari & Qinying He, 2022. "Impact of cooperative membership on production efficiency of smallholder goat farmers in Nepal," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(2), pages 337-356, June.
    3. Adjin, K. Christophe & Henning, Christian H. C. A., 2019. "Farmers organizations and food availability in Senegal: An impact analysis using a spatial econometrics approach," Working Papers of Agricultural Policy WP2019-07, University of Kiel, Department of Agricultural Economics, Chair of Agricultural Policy.
    4. Musa Hasen Ahmed & Hiwot Mekonnen Mesfin, 2017. "The impact of agricultural cooperatives membership on the wellbeing of smallholder farmers: empirical evidence from eastern Ethiopia," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-20, December.
    5. Ahmet Candemir & Sabine Duvaleix & Laure Latruffe, 2021. "Agricultural Cooperatives And Farm Sustainability – A Literature Review," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 1118-1144, September.
    6. Yuanyuan Peng & H. Holly Wang & Yueshu Zhou, 2022. "Can cooperatives help commercial farms to access credit in China? Evidence from Jiangsu Province," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 70(4), pages 325-349, December.
    7. Wanglin Ma & Hongyun Zheng & Yueji Zhu & Jianling Qi, 2022. "Effects of cooperative membership on financial performance of banana farmers in China: A heterogeneous analysis," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(1), pages 5-27, March.
    8. Lin, Bin & Wang, Xiaoxi & Jin, Songqing & Yang, Wanjiang & Li, Houjian, 2022. "Impacts of cooperative membership on rice productivity: Evidence from China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    9. Jasper GRASHUIS & Ye SU, 2019. "A Review Of The Empirical Literature On Farmer Cooperatives: Performance, Ownership And Governance, Finance, And Member Attitude," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 90(1), pages 77-102, March.
    10. Gezahegn, Tafesse & Van Passel, Steven & Berhanu, Tekeste & D'Haese, Marijke & Maertens, Miet, 2020. "Structural and Institutional Heterogeneity among Agricultural Cooperatives in Ethiopia: Does it Matter for Farmers’ Welfare?," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 46(2), August.
    11. Eric Ofori & Gabriel S Sampson & Jessie Vipham, 2019. "The effects of agricultural cooperatives on smallholder livelihoods and agricultural performance in Cambodia," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(4), pages 218-229, November.
    12. Gashaw Tadesse Abate & Gian Nicola Francesconi & Gian Nicola Francesconi, 2013. "Impact of agricultural cooperatives on smallholders' technical efficiency: evidence from Ethiopia," Euricse Working Papers 1350, Euricse (European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises).
    13. Abate, G. T., 2013. "Impact of agricultural cooperatives on smallholders\u2019 technical efficiency: evidence from Ethiopia," IWMI Working Papers H045831, International Water Management Institute.
    14. Jan Falkowski & Pavel Ciaian, 2016. "Factors Supporting the Development of Producer Organizations and their Impacts in the Light of Ongoing Changes in Food Supply Chains: A Literature Review," JRC Research Reports JRC101617, Joint Research Centre (Seville site).
    15. Biggeri, Mario & Burchi, Francesco & Ciani, Federico & Herrmann, Raoul, 2018. "Linking small-scale farmers to the durum wheat value chain in Ethiopia: Assessing the effects on production and wellbeing," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 77-91.
    16. Zhang, Shemei & Sun, Zhanli & Ma, Wanglin & Valentinov, Vladislav, 2020. "The effect of cooperative membership on agricultural technology adoption in Sichuan, China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    17. Lei Wu & Chuanjian Li & Yang Gao, 2022. "Regional agricultural cooperatives and subjective wellbeing of rural households in China," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(S2), pages 138-158, November.
    18. Wanglin Ma & Sanghyun Hong & W. Robert Reed & Jianhua Duan & Phong Luu, 2023. "Yield effects of agricultural cooperative membership in developing countries: A meta‐analysis," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(3), pages 761-780, September.
    19. Ma, Wanglin & Abdulai, Awudu, 2016. "Does cooperative membership improve household welfare? Evidence from apple farmers in China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 94-102.
    20. Ji, Chen & Jin, Songqing & Wang, Haitao & Ye, Chunhui, 2019. "Estimating effects of cooperative membership on farmers’ safe production behaviors: Evidence from pig sector in China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 231-245.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:annpce:v:92:y:2021:i:2:p:207-231. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1370-4788 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.