Building Sustainable Smallholder Cooperatives in Emerging Market Economies: Findings from a Five-Year Project in Kenya

John E. Meador, David J. O’Brien, Michael L. Cook, Greg Grothe, LuAnn Werner, Daniel Diang’a and Rebecca M. Savoie
Additional contact information
John E. Meador: Rural Policy Centre, Scotland’s Rural College, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK
David J. O’Brien: Department of Rural Sociology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
Michael L. Cook: Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
Greg Grothe: Land O’Lakes International Development, Shoreview, MN 55126, USA
LuAnn Werner: Land O’Lakes International Development, Shoreview, MN 55126, USA
Daniel Diang’a: Land O’Lakes International Development, P.O. Box 45006 G.P.O. 00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Rebecca M. Savoie: Department of Rural Sociology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 7, 1-15

Abstract: A comparative study of two smallholder dairy cooperatives in Kenya examines the question: what factors are conducive to producing sustainable smallholder cooperatives that can gain entry into the vertical value chain in liberalized post-colonial economies? The relative weight of income advantage; selective individual incentives and, social capital on maintaining member patronage are assessed within variable environmental constraints and opportunities facing different cooperatives. The methodology includes case study observation of the cooperatives during a five-year period, as well as sample surveys of members and non-members that include indicators of dairy income; reasons why farmers elect to join or not join the cooperative; and assessments of the importance of different services provided by the cooperative. The findings show how the relative weight of specific incentives for cooperative membership can vary from one environment to another within the same nation. The most important finding is that maintaining sustainable smallholder cooperatives within an increasingly competitive environment depends on the ability of managers to create business strategies that are compatible with the cooperative’s environmental constraints but, at the same time, incentivize members’ patronage.

Keywords: smallholder dairy cooperatives; Kenya; social capital; development; emerging economies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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