Question

Question 4:

Small scale farm producers often form cooperatives to improve their marketing activities.

How may cooperatives achieve those aims?

What are the management structures and benefits that could occur from the formation of cooperatives?

Unfortunately, farmer cooperatives have weaknesses. Discuss what those weaknesses might be? (Marks 10)

Answer 1

Aim:-

The coperative achieve aims by "providing good possible condition, provide financial advice and services to members, by promoting, Contribute to the cooperative,economic & financial education of members. "

Farmers cooperatives to access more supplies and markets at a reasonable cost. Theiraim is to reduce costs by increasing the scale of their economies.Farmers join hand together to meet up their requirements for farming, to sell the produce on good prices and to be viable in market.

Cooperative management structure

Influenced by current trends in market-based reform, privatization, decentralization, and participation, cooperatives are being rediscovered as a suitable organizational structure for farmers to improve their livelihoods. Agricultural cooperatives in which members participate and contribute will become powerful tools for the development of the rural economy.

Benifits: -

* This protects most small farmers from exploitation by large farms that buy products.

* also provides for a market for products from small farmers who would not have met the minimum requirements in terms of minimum quality to be supplied. The biggest benifit of this is the security offered by the numbers.

Weakness: -

* Some co-operatives are known to exploit their fellow farmers because officials misuse farmers' funds received through co-operatives and blame buyers.

* Some officials are known to plan from above and give less to farmers and blame poor market prices for overproduction.