Can rural producer organisations transform rural production and trade? The case of Zambia's artisanal and small-scale mining associations

Agatha Siwale

Resources Policy, 2018, vol. 59, issue C, 506-515

Abstract: This paper examines the link between rural producer organisations and economic outcomes for artisanal and small-scale miners. A case study of mining associations in Zambia's amethyst and emerald sectors was undertaken, in which field-visits and a series of key informant interviews were conducted. Contrary to the literature on fourth-generation cooperatives, the paper finds a high degree of external dependence on the government and donors for operations. This has resulted in a streamlining of associational activities to what these entities are willing to offer. Association leaders have become gate-keepers to donor and government assistances, showing limited accountability. Meanwhile, benefits of collective action associated with these groups are less apparent, with individual mine-owners relying more on informal, trust-based relationships than formal associations. Governments and donors attempting to use these organisations as a means of supporting artisanal and small-scale mining must devise mechanisms through which transparency, accountability and democratic self-governance can be promoted in them and low trust-levels countered if these groups are to be effective.

Keywords: Artisanal and small-scale mining; Associations; Collective action; Governance; Donor-government intervention; Cooperatives (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301420718302009
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

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:eee:jrpoli:v:59:y:2018:i:c:p:506-515

DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2018.09.005

Access Statistics for this article

Resources Policy is currently edited by R. G. Eggert

More articles in Resources Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().