Development and Effectiveness of Agricultural Cooperatives: Case of Maize Producer Cooperatives (MPCs) in the Republic of Benin
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Background
2.1. Brief Overview of ACs
2.2. Assessment of ACs’ Effectiveness
3. Materials and Methods
3.1. Study Areas
3.2. Research Methodology
4. Findings
4.1. Cases Description
- MPCs in Kandi
“First, the promise of increasing government support, mainly in acquiring inputs; second, the existence of partners willing to support them; and lastly, a guarantee of a market for maize products.”
“A large majority of members are disheartened by the discontinuation of support programs and the new registration process required by extension officers… This new registration process required them to pay another subscription fee and contribute to forming a new capital, which they deemed unfair and demotivating.”
“The secretary, due to his level of education, holds a crucial role in the cooperative’s affairs, particularly in support and aid coordination. However, this has caused resentment from the president, who feels that the secretary and his allies are disproportionately benefiting from the cooperative, thereby causing division and hindering the union’s progress.”
“The group was considering selling maize grain at 12000XOF per 100 kg but switched to a higher offer of 14000XOF per 100 kg. However, the higher offer fell through, and the maize was sold at a lower price of 8000XOF, leading to a loss. This negative outcome made some members question the cooperative’s joint selling efforts.”
- MPCs in Djidja
“Extension officers emphasized the importance of a legal framework for recognition, opportunities for securing markets through contracts, and working with more partners to increase maize production and marketing in Djidja.”
“Their primary role is making decisions related to maize production and marketing, representing cooperatives, keeping books, and help in looking for partners and donors…”
“The low ability in contract enforcement, inability to satisfy members’ demand for higher prices, and absence of market.”
4.2. Comparative Analysis of Cases
- Institutional Environment
- Internal Governance
4.3. Discussions
5. Conclusions
- Members should be the starting point that motivates an AC establishment. MPCs should be established based on producers’ will and shared values instead of being reduced to a simple get-together of producers.
- The government must redefine its roles in establishing and developing cooperative societies. Training on agricultural cooperatives is of the utmost importance, and emphasis should be placed on the organizational design of their cooperation. It is essential that the state also regulates support systems, particularly cooperatives’ relations with partners, to avoid the possibility of leading them astray or in the wrong direction.
- Despite a build-up and experiment phase, knowledgeable or trained leaders are essential to rule cooperative bodies and stimulate members’ participation.
- Services to members, especially joint selling, is a business that deserves capacity building in cooperative management to guarantee that cooperatives fulfill the primary mission for which they were set up.
- Given some MPCs’ small size and the limited resources on which they operate, strengthening collective action through cooperation with other cooperative societies operating at the same level would constitute an opportunity to reach a meaningful scale.
- Conflicts between leaders or members, affecting the MPC’s performance sometimes to the point of turning them inoperative, deserve careful investigation to understand the causes and, above all, to strengthen the mechanisms for managing these conflicts.
Author Contributions
Funding
Informed Consent Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Characteristics | Kandi | Djidja |
---|---|---|
Location | North | Center |
Total land (Km2) | 3421 | 2184 |
Total population | 179,290 | 123,543 |
Density | 52 | 57 |
Agricultural households | 16,046 | 20,106 |
Total maize production (T) | 50,639 | 31,704.75 |
Yield of maize (T/ha) | 1.2 | 1.5 |
Area of Survey | Kandi | Djidja | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Location of coop | Kandi city | Pede | Sinawongourou | Djidja city | Sovlegnin | Dridji |
Tier (level) | Union | Village | Village | Union | Village | Village |
Current state | Non-active | Revived | Revived | Active | Active | Active |
Date of creation | 2016 | 2016 | 2016 | 2017 | 2017 | 2017 |
Number of members | N/A | 150 | 65 | 12,625 | 410 | 83 |
Informants | Treasurer | Chairman 2 Members | Chairman 2 Members | Secretary Manager | Chairman 2 Members | Chairman 2 Members |
Core Bodies | Number of Members | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Union | Pede | Sinawongourou | ||||
Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | |
General Assembly | N/A | N/A | 135 | 15 | 57 | 8 |
Board of Directors | N/A | N/A | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Supervisory board | N/A | N/A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Core Bodies | Number of Members | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Union | Sovlegnin | Dridji | ||||
Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | |
General Assembly | 12625 | 1768 | 410 | 69 | 83 | 15 |
Board of Directors | 12 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
Supervisory board | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Program | Duration | Type of Support | Details | Total Cost of Support |
---|---|---|---|---|
ACMA2 | 2018–2021 | Infrastructure | 1 warehouse of 500 T; 1 drying yard; and 1 toilet | 245,298 USD$ |
Equipment | 100 palettes; 1 sewing machine; 1 moistener; 2 electronic scales; 1 generator; and others | |||
Training | Access to market |
Years | Communal Output (T) | Sold by Coop (T) | MPC’s Share (%) | Sold through Warrantage (T) | Unit (Bag) | Price/Bag (XOF) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | 25,053 | 1600 | 6.39 | 448 | 100 kg | 16,000 |
2019 | 26,177 | 2400 | 9.16 | 1200 | 100 kg | 15,500 |
2020 | 31,704 | 4800 | 15.14 | 1650 | 100 kg | 21,000 |
Topics | Sub-Themes Emerging | Kandi | Djidja |
---|---|---|---|
Institutional environment | Legal framework | UA-COOP | UA-COOP |
Initiator | Government | Government | |
MPC’s Background | -Unstructured POs only in villages | -Structured POs at the village and district levels | |
Rules and bylaw | -Involvement of extension officers in the design phase | -Independently designed by producers | |
Administration | -Unstable | -Stable | |
Registration | -Irregular | -Regular | |
Support provided | -Initial support (equipment + infrastructure of poor quality) | -Continuous support (training + equipment + infrastructure of quality) |
Topics | Sub-Themes Emerging | Kandi | Djidja |
---|---|---|---|
Internal governance | Structure | -Well-defined (GA, BoD, and CC); Reliance on extension officers for technical decisions; Inactive bodies or inactive board members | -Well-defined (GA, BoD, and CC); Rely on a team of managers with professionals at district level; Active bodies and board members |
Leaders’ profile and skills | -Largely non-educated; non trained leaders | -Largely non-educated; Trained in AC management | |
Accountability and transparency | -No update of official records | -Update of official records | |
Member’s participation | -Sporadic General Assemblies meetings; Weak participation of members | -Regular meetings; Participation promoted through comities; Active participation of Members | |
Network | -Non-active union because of conflict between board members | -Active union | |
-Limited shared resources and infrastructure | -Significant shared resources and infrastructure | ||
Services | -Failure of joint selling | -Low ability in joint selling |
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Ibikoule, G.E.; Lee, J.; Agalati, B.; Gillette, R. Development and Effectiveness of Agricultural Cooperatives: Case of Maize Producer Cooperatives (MPCs) in the Republic of Benin. Sustainability 2023, 15, 4480. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054480
Ibikoule GE, Lee J, Agalati B, Gillette R. Development and Effectiveness of Agricultural Cooperatives: Case of Maize Producer Cooperatives (MPCs) in the Republic of Benin. Sustainability. 2023; 15(5):4480. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054480
Chicago/Turabian StyleIbikoule, Godfrid Erasme, Jaehyeon Lee, Barnabé Agalati, and Raulston Gillette. 2023. "Development and Effectiveness of Agricultural Cooperatives: Case of Maize Producer Cooperatives (MPCs) in the Republic of Benin" Sustainability 15, no. 5: 4480. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054480