Characterization of farmer‐based cooperative societies in the upper west region of Ghana

Abstract

The study describes the ownership and governance characteristics and the challenges of farmer-based cooperative societies from three districts in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Primary data were obtained from 59 active and 14 inactive cooperatives in the selected districts. The study concludes that Ghanaian cooperatives in the sample bear much resemblance to the traditional form which emerged in Europe and North America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Generally, such cooperatives have relatively small memberships from local communities who use a democratic governance system and do not delegate control to outsiders. While the cost of owning and transacting is limited with such characteristics, many traditional cooperatives lack the specific knowledge, economic efficiency, and resource endowment necessary to become or remain competitive. Indeed, the active cooperatives listed finance, access to inputs, tractor services and poor leadership as key challenges, while inactive cooperatives blamed poor member commitment as the primary culprit for their inactivity. Efforts aimed at promoting and supporting farmer cooperatives should focus on addressing these key challenges. Also, financial and technical support should probably be conditional on group performance and not group formation itself.

Measuring Perceptions and the Drivers of Membership Commitment of Cocoa Farmers’ Cooperative Societies in Atwima Mponua District, Ghana

“…The inefficiencies of the Ghanaian cocoa farmer are evident as most of them produce significantly below their optimal output levels. They often need better yields and low income due to poor farm management and lack of adoption of cost-effective agriculture technologies (Dary and Grashuis, 2021). Bachke (2019) believes that this can significantly be reduced through the action of social capital (membership of cooperatives).…”

Impact of digital financial inclusion on the participation in farmer‐based organisations, structured market and off‐farm work in Ghana

“…FBO is defined as a collective of smallholder farmers, who come together either in formal or informal arrangements, established common pool resources (human, material and financial) for collective action. Among some of the main benefits of membership of FBOs include enhanced access to market information, better market access (good market niche for agricultural produce), uniform prices for farm produce and improved bargaining power (Dary & Grashuis, 2021; Francesconi & Wouterse, 2015). Supermarkets find it easy to deal with FBOs relative to individual farmers.…”

Data driven analysis of social capital in Farmer Producer Companies

“…The importance of FPCs and similar institutional forms such as agricultural cooperatives, producer organizations, farmer groups, and associations in promoting farm production and marketing performance has received great attention of scholars and government makers. A growing number of studies have found that these farmer-based institutions have significant and positive impacts on farm productivity and production efficiency [18] , [19] , [20] , marketing channel choice and product quality improvement [21] , [22] , household welfare and rural development [23] , [24] , cropland abandonment reduction and climate change mitigation [25] , technology adoption [26] , [27] , and women empowerment [28] . However, to date, no previous studies have discussed how social capital in FPCs drives the realization of benefits for its members and business performance of FPCs.…”