The Life Cycle of Agricultural Cooperatives: Implications for Management and Governance in Ethiopia

Gian Nicola Francesconi and Ruerd Ruben

Journal of Rural Cooperation, 2008, vol. 36, issue 2, 16

Abstract: Commercialization through cooperatives has the potential to reduce transaction costs and improve bargaining power of farmers vis-à-vis the market. The objective of this study is to evaluate the probability for Ethiopian agri-cooperative to engage in collective marketing activities over time, given market and governance characteristics. Using a sample of 200 agricultural cooperatives from the Ethiopian Highlands, the analysis reveals that collective marketing faces cyclical challenges related to increased competition. Empirical results also suggest that among Ethiopian cooperatives, those located in the Northern regions of Tigray and Amhara, and/or established upon the voluntary initiative of farmers, are more likely to engage in sustainable collective marketing activities over time. The study concludes with implications for policy and further research.

Keywords: Agricultural and Food Policy; Community/Rural/Urban Development; International Development; Marketing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/163499/files/Francesconi%20jrc36-2_2008_.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:jlorco:163499

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.163499

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Rural Cooperation from Hebrew University, Center for Agricultural Economic Research Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().