As cooperativas agropecuárias são representativas dentro do cooperativismo e do agronegócio brasileiro. O ramo agropecuário possui 23% do total de cooperativas brasileiras (OCB, 2010), com participação considerável em inúmeras cadeias do agronegócio. Apesar da importância dessas organizações, com as mudanças que ocorreram nas últimas décadas na economia brasileira e mundial, como abertura econômica, menor aporte financeiro do estado às cooperativas agropecuárias e internacionalização dos mercados, muitas dessas organizações têm apresentado dificuldade de se manterem no mercado. As cooperativas agropecuárias tradicionais, conforme descreve Cook (1995), possuem os seus direitos de propriedade difusos, gerando problemas de governança (carona, horizonte, portfólio, controle e custos de influência), causando conflitos na organização cooperativa. De acordo com a intensidade dos problemas mencionados, podem levar à liquidação do empreendimento cooperativo. O Rio Grande do Sul apresenta-se como um dos estados onde o cooperativismo teve sua gênese. Diante do exposto, o trabalho teve como objetivo verificar a presença e a intensidade dos problemas oriundos dos direitos de propriedade difusos, bem como analisar e discutir as estratégias empregadas pelas cooperativas agropecuárias do Rio Grande do Sul e presentes na literatura para minimizar esses problemas. Verificou-se que o problema mais intenso nas cooperativas agropecuárias do estado é o do horizonte, sendo seguindo pelo problema do carona, de portfólio, de controle e custos de influência. Constatou-se que, em geral, as cooperativas que têm os “grãos” como principal atividade de negócio apresentam maior intensidade do problema do horizonte e carona que o grupo das demais cooperativas. As cooperativas agropecuárias do estado apresentam um grande número de estratégias e mecanismos para minimizar os problemas oriundos dos direitos de propriedade difusos, diferindo entre os diferentes grupos de cooperativas. No entanto, a ausência de estratégias para mitigar os problemas em algumas cooperativas, aumenta a incidência dos problemas. Os novos modelos organizacionais de cooperativas podem ser uma forma de minimizar os problemas de governança das cooperativas agropecuárias do Rio Grande do Sul. / The agriculture cooperatives are representative within Brazilian cooperativism and agribusiness. The agricultural line of business detains 23% of the total of Brazilian cooperatives (OCB, 2010), with a considerable participation in several chains of agribusiness. Despite the importance of these organizations, with the changes that took place in the last decade in the Brazilian and the world’s economy, such as the opening of economy, the diminishing of financial support from the government to the agricultural cooperatives and the internationalization of the market, many organizations such as these have been showing difficulties to keep themselves in the market. The traditional agricultural cooperatives, as Cook describes (1995), have their ownership rights diffused, creating governance issues (“free ride”, horizon, portfolio, control and influence costs), causing conflicts in the cooperative organization. According to the intensity of the issues mentioned above, they can liquidate the cooperative enterprise. Rio Grande do Sul is one of the states where cooperativism had its genesis. Considering what has been presented so far, the goal of this work was to verify the presence and intensity of the issues stemming from the diffused ownership rights, as well as analyze and discuss the strategies used by the agricultural cooperatives of Rio Grande do Sul and that are present in the literature in order to minimize these problems. It was verified that the most intense problem in the agricultural cooperatives in the state is the one related to “horizon”, followed by the “free ride” problem, the portfolio, the control and the influence costs ones. It was also verified that the cooperatives which have “grains” as their main business activity present a greater intensity of the “horizon” and the “free ride” problems, compared to the group of the other cooperatives. The state’s agricultural cooperatives have a great number of strategies and mechanisms to minimize the issues stemming from the diffused ownership rights, differing amongst the different cooperative groups. The lack of strategies to minimize the problems in some cooperatives increases the incidence of these issues. The new organizational models of the cooperatives can be a way of minimizing the governance problems of the agricultural cooperatives of Rio Grande do Sul.

As cooperativas agropecuárias são representativas dentro do cooperativismo e do agronegócio brasileiro. O ramo agropecuário possui 23% do total de cooperativas brasileiras (OCB, 2010), com participação considerável em inúmeras cadeias do agronegócio. Apesar da importância dessas organizações, com as mudanças que ocorreram nas últimas décadas na economia brasileira e mundial, como abertura econômica, menor aporte financeiro do estado às cooperativas agropecuárias e internacionalização dos mercados, muitas dessas organizações têm apresentado dificuldade de se manterem no mercado. As cooperativas agropecuárias tradicionais, conforme descreve Cook (1995), possuem os seus direitos de propriedade difusos, gerando problemas de governança (carona, horizonte, portfólio, controle e custos de influência), causando conflitos na organização cooperativa. De acordo com a intensidade dos problemas mencionados, podem levar à liquidação do empreendimento cooperativo. O Rio Grande do Sul apresenta-se como um dos estados onde o cooperativismo teve sua gênese. Diante do exposto, o trabalho teve como objetivo verificar a presença e a intensidade dos problemas oriundos dos direitos de propriedade difusos, bem como analisar e discutir as estratégias empregadas pelas cooperativas agropecuárias do Rio Grande do Sul e presentes na literatura para minimizar esses problemas. Verificou-se que o problema mais intenso nas cooperativas agropecuárias do estado é o do horizonte, sendo seguindo pelo problema do carona, de portfólio, de controle e custos de influência. Constatou-se que, em geral, as cooperativas que têm os “grãos” como principal atividade de negócio apresentam maior intensidade do problema do horizonte e carona que o grupo das demais cooperativas. As cooperativas agropecuárias do estado apresentam um grande número de estratégias e mecanismos para minimizar os problemas oriundos dos direitos de propriedade difusos, diferindo entre os diferentes grupos de cooperativas. No entanto, a ausência de estratégias para mitigar os problemas em algumas cooperativas, aumenta a incidência dos problemas. Os novos modelos organizacionais de cooperativas podem ser uma forma de minimizar os problemas de governança das cooperativas agropecuárias do Rio Grande do Sul. / The agriculture cooperatives are representative within Brazilian cooperativism and agribusiness. The agricultural line of business detains 23% of the total of Brazilian cooperatives (OCB, 2010), with a considerable participation in several chains of agribusiness. Despite the importance of these organizations, with the changes that took place in the last decade in the Brazilian and the world’s economy, such as the opening of economy, the diminishing of financial support from the government to the agricultural cooperatives and the internationalization of the market, many organizations such as these have been showing difficulties to keep themselves in the market. The traditional agricultural cooperatives, as Cook describes (1995), have their ownership rights diffused, creating governance issues (“free ride”, horizon, portfolio, control and influence costs), causing conflicts in the cooperative organization. According to the intensity of the issues mentioned above, they can liquidate the cooperative enterprise. Rio Grande do Sul is one of the states where cooperativism had its genesis. Considering what has been presented so far, the goal of this work was to verify the presence and intensity of the issues stemming from the diffused ownership rights, as well as analyze and discuss the strategies used by the agricultural cooperatives of Rio Grande do Sul and that are present in the literature in order to minimize these problems. It was verified that the most intense problem in the agricultural cooperatives in the state is the one related to “horizon”, followed by the “free ride” problem, the portfolio, the control and the influence costs ones. It was also verified that the cooperatives which have “grains” as their main business activity present a greater intensity of the “horizon” and the “free ride” problems, compared to the group of the other cooperatives. The state’s agricultural cooperatives have a great number of strategies and mechanisms to minimize the issues stemming from the diffused ownership rights, differing amongst the different cooperative groups. The lack of strategies to minimize the problems in some cooperatives increases the incidence of these issues. The new organizational models of the cooperatives can be a way of minimizing the governance problems of the agricultural cooperatives of Rio Grande do Sul.

As cooperativas agropecuárias são representativas dentro do cooperativismo e do agronegócio brasileiro. O ramo agropecuário possui 23% do total de cooperativas brasileiras (OCB, 2010), com participação considerável em inúmeras cadeias do agronegócio. Apesar da importância dessas organizações, com as mudanças que ocorreram nas últimas décadas na economia brasileira e mundial, como abertura econômica, menor aporte financeiro do estado às cooperativas agropecuárias e internacionalização dos mercados, muitas dessas organizações têm apresentado dificuldade de se manterem no mercado. As cooperativas agropecuárias tradicionais, conforme descreve Cook (1995), possuem os seus direitos de propriedade difusos, gerando problemas de governança (carona, horizonte, portfólio, controle e custos de influência), causando conflitos na organização cooperativa. De acordo com a intensidade dos problemas mencionados, podem levar à liquidação do empreendimento cooperativo. O Rio Grande do Sul apresenta-se como um dos estados onde o cooperativismo teve sua gênese. Diante do exposto, o trabalho teve como objetivo verificar a presença e a intensidade dos problemas oriundos dos direitos de propriedade difusos, bem como analisar e discutir as estratégias empregadas pelas cooperativas agropecuárias do Rio Grande do Sul e presentes na literatura para minimizar esses problemas. Verificou-se que o problema mais intenso nas cooperativas agropecuárias do estado é o do horizonte, sendo seguindo pelo problema do carona, de portfólio, de controle e custos de influência. Constatou-se que, em geral, as cooperativas que têm os “grãos” como principal atividade de negócio apresentam maior intensidade do problema do horizonte e carona que o grupo das demais cooperativas. As cooperativas agropecuárias do estado apresentam um grande número de estratégias e mecanismos para minimizar os problemas oriundos dos direitos de propriedade difusos, diferindo entre os diferentes grupos de cooperativas. No entanto, a ausência de estratégias para mitigar os problemas em algumas cooperativas, aumenta a incidência dos problemas. Os novos modelos organizacionais de cooperativas podem ser uma forma de minimizar os problemas de governança das cooperativas agropecuárias do Rio Grande do Sul. / The agriculture cooperatives are representative within Brazilian cooperativism and agribusiness. The agricultural line of business detains 23% of the total of Brazilian cooperatives (OCB, 2010), with a considerable participation in several chains of agribusiness. Despite the importance of these organizations, with the changes that took place in the last decade in the Brazilian and the world’s economy, such as the opening of economy, the diminishing of financial support from the government to the agricultural cooperatives and the internationalization of the market, many organizations such as these have been showing difficulties to keep themselves in the market. The traditional agricultural cooperatives, as Cook describes (1995), have their ownership rights diffused, creating governance issues (“free ride”, horizon, portfolio, control and influence costs), causing conflicts in the cooperative organization. According to the intensity of the issues mentioned above, they can liquidate the cooperative enterprise. Rio Grande do Sul is one of the states where cooperativism had its genesis. Considering what has been presented so far, the goal of this work was to verify the presence and intensity of the issues stemming from the diffused ownership rights, as well as analyze and discuss the strategies used by the agricultural cooperatives of Rio Grande do Sul and that are present in the literature in order to minimize these problems. It was verified that the most intense problem in the agricultural cooperatives in the state is the one related to “horizon”, followed by the “free ride” problem, the portfolio, the control and the influence costs ones. It was also verified that the cooperatives which have “grains” as their main business activity present a greater intensity of the “horizon” and the “free ride” problems, compared to the group of the other cooperatives. The state’s agricultural cooperatives have a great number of strategies and mechanisms to minimize the issues stemming from the diffused ownership rights, differing amongst the different cooperative groups. The lack of strategies to minimize the problems in some cooperatives increases the incidence of these issues. The new organizational models of the cooperatives can be a way of minimizing the governance problems of the agricultural cooperatives of Rio Grande do Sul.

Based on primary sources pertaining to the village of Zhaitan, this thesis studied the economic transition of households in a village in the south of Anhui Province as they went through the revolutions, political movements and reforms of the twentieth century. The transition was divided into four periods, corresponding to four of the chapters of this text. The first period was from 1927 to 1949, on which I depicted the household economy in a village that had not yet experienced intervention by the powers of the state; the second period was from 1949 to 1962, during which the Land Reform and the cooperative movement were the most significant revolutions in the rural area. The third period was 1963–1978, when the commune system was adjusted in response to the failure of the Great Leap Forward and was continued stably from then on. The last period was the reform period which ran from late-1978 until 1992. During this period, the collective system was abandoned and state control on the rural economy was gradually loosened. In the course of transition of the household economy in Zhaitan, I focused on the conflict between the growing population and the limited resources of the village. Before the 1949, the solution was to go into businesses outside the village; in the 30 years after 1949, under the framework of the collective system and the control of the state command, the peasants managed to develop labour-intensive production to meet the needs of the growing population; in the reform period after 1978, with the overall withdrawal of state intervention in rural areas, the tension was finally released through the market and the development of industry. The experience of Zhaitan reveals that the change of land ownership did not make a difference to the economic condition of most households if the land area was much less than what was needed. It also shows that the collective system of agriculture, however, could promote agricultural production, and thus brought about positive effects on the condition of each household through centralised management of the labour force and the land. Last, but not least, the overall boost to rural household economy is relient on the development of the industry to complete the transfer of rural workforce from the agriculture.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / Saving is important in the economy as it has linkages with growth, development and sustainability. The poor average saving rate in the rural economy has restricted the capacity of rural development in South Africa. The study focuses on comparing rural and urban household savings behaviour in South Africa, using household data from the Income and Expenditure Survey (IES) for the period 2010/2011. The dynamic linear saving functions originating from the Absolute Income and Permanent Income Hypotheses were estimated separately for the different household types using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method. Panel data analysis was carried out by pooling together the cross-sectional household types over the twelve-month period. The study established that urban households earn higher incomes and have more average savings than rural households in South Africa. A positive significant relationship was found to exist between current saving decisions and income across all household types in South Africa. Another interesting finding was that rural households have more marginal saving rates than urban households in the short-term and in the long-run. The Fixed Effects Model was deemed to be the best estimator in estimating saving functions across all household types in South Africa, as validated by the Hausman and Redundant Fixed Effects tests. Given that rural households have a potential to save, the study recommends increased awareness and education of rural households on the benefits of accessing basic financial services. Policy-wise, the study recommends the government to increase support in agriculture and extend the provision of food and health subsidies to rural households in South Africa.

Poverty alleviation is a key item on the agenda of both government and non-governmental organisations. The use of indigenous knowledge to embark on small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) such as handicraft making has shown that it has a potential to yield the desired outcome in many areas. The research addressed the question: to what degree are handicrafts made in the Lowveld region of Swaziland and to what extent do these handicrafts contribute towards the livelihood of rural households? The data was collected using questionnaires and observations. Findings revealed that the production of handicrafts is the second most important livelihood activity for most respondents. Even though the income received from these activities is small, its significance lies in the timing at which it is received; and on its role in supporting existing livelihood activities. Sustainability of the business is, however, threatened by inaccessibility of resources, lack of organisation and trading challenges There is a need to promote the cultivation of natural resources, continuous training workshops and for women to form cooperatives or groups. Further research is needed that would focus on the following areas: a comparative study done in urban areas which shall also investigate the impact of handicraft on urban poor households; a study which will focus on handicraft marketing and consumption and lastly on the youth and handicraft. / Agriculture, Animal Health and Human Ecology / M.Sc. (Human Ecology)

A avicultura de postura no decorrer dos anos 2000 apresenta crescentes modificações no seu ambiente competitivo. Por um lado, a abertura dos mercados na década de 1990 proporcionou a modernização e a inovação do setor produtivo, mas também inseriu o granjeiro em uma competição internacional na aquisição de insumos. A estabilidade da demanda, aliada com a maximização da capacidade instalada das firmas, estabeleceu um ambiente com maior competitividade e rivalidade para a conquista de parcelas de mercados, principalmente na região onde se encontra a maior praça de produção e consumo: a Região Sudeste. É com o objetivo de identificar a evolução dessas modificações do ambiente estrutural que este trabalho se delineia. Analisou-se a evolução da estrutura do setor produtivo, identificando as percepções dos granjeiros quanto às principais barreiras estruturais e as principais condutas e deslocamentos da produção, ressaltando quais os principais fatores que resultam no lento crescimento e desenvolvimento do setor. Por meio dos índices de Herfindahl-Hirschman e Razão de Concentração, análise qualitativa da percepção dos empresários da microrregião de São Lourenço quanto à intensidade das barreiras à entrada de novos concorrentes, e análise do deslocamento regional da produção de ovos, foi possível identificar que a estrutura do setor produtivo, representado pelas firmas líderes nacionais, se situa tangenciando a concentração moderada com estabilidade em todos os anos do período analisado (2002 a 2011), apresentando diferentes comportamentos antes e após o ano de 2006. Há divergências de concentração entre as regiões brasileiras, ressaltando a importância desta para a região Sudeste, onde se concentram 48,7% do alojamento de aves regional, entre as 11 maiores firmas líderes analisadas. As percepções dos entrevistados desta região manifestam-se nas barreiras relativas à especificidade dos ativos envolvidos na produção e na economia de escala mínima exigida para a sobrevivência da firma no setor. Consolidando, uma consequente rede de barreiras, que culmina com o impacto na acessibilidade dos canais de distribuição, sinalizando uma estrutura regional oligopsônia. No entanto, condutas de introdução de inovação tecnológica no setor produtivo, aquisição das firmas “não líderes” por firmas líderes, deslocamentos da produção e alojamento para regiões produtoras de grãos e próximas ao consumidor são delineadas pelas firmas com o intuito de sobreviver neste setor produtivo. As condutas encontradas podem justificar a estabilidade da evolução estrutural do setor, o seu lento crescimento e modernização, principalmente antes do ano de 2006, comumente julgados pelos profissionais do setor resultantes de uma resistência cultural à entrada da modernização. / The Brazilian Laying Poultry, since the year 2000 has faced some changes in its competitive environment. The opening of markets in the 1990s brought modernization and innovation to the egg production sector, but also placed the egg producer in an international competitive market to buy grains, mainly corn, tackling high prices and volatility. The stability in the demand, combined with high costs and the rise of productive company capacity created this economic atmosphere in which there is a high level of rivalry for market share among companies, meanly on regions where the highest concentrations of companies and the largest production and consumption indexes are: The Southeast. This research focuses in the development of these structural atmosphere, trying to identify the evolution of the egg production sector structure. Therefore, concentration indexes were analyzed comprehending the period between 2002 and 2011, taking into account the level of barriers to enter the market according to the egg producers’ perceptions and supported by the behavior observed in the egg production sector. Herfindahl-Hirschman and market share indexes proved low concentration in some values in 2009, 2010 and 2011, with different growth among the companies after 2006. 48.7% of southeast laying hens are lodged in eleven leading companies, featuring the second largest concentration region. The perception of the barriers to enter this market is based on the specificity of physical assets and the minimum scale economy, culminating in a net of secondary barriers, those with oligopsony structure hampers the distribution channel accessibility. However, the introduction of innovation in technology, the acquisition of non-leader companies by the leader ones, and the displacement to crop producing areas and to the consumers are important measures for companies to survive in an economic atmosphere with strong limitation barriers. All those conducts help to explain the stability of the structural evolution and its slow growth and modernization, usually regarded as cultural resistance.

A cadeia produtiva do leite no Brasil se caracteriza pela carência na utilização de ferramentas de gestão e financeiras para o controle da atividade. Atualmente algumas linhas de pesquisa estão trazendo para o meio rural a utilização de indicadores de origem econômica e financeira para complementarem os já utilizados de origem técnica como indicadores de produtividade, escala de produção etc. Este trabalho objetivou correlacionar indicadores técnicos, econômicos e financeiros de propriedades produtoras de leite localizadas em Minas Gerais para buscar quais seriam os de eleição para acompanhamento e quais estariam mais relacionados à rentabilidade e retorno financeiro. Foram coletados dados mensais de 15 propriedades mineiras do período correspondido entre julho de 2012 e junho de 2013, além de visita e aplicação de questionário às mesmas. Os dados obtidos foram utilizados para o cálculo de índices técnicos, econômicos e financeiros e também para caracterização das propriedades. Sobre os indicadores foram aplicados os testes de Kruskal Wallis e Wilcoxon para comparar as médias entre as propriedades em relação aos três níveis de retorno sobre o Investimento da propriedade. Em seguida aplicou-se o teste de correlação de Spearman para cálculo dos indicadores de correlação de todas variáveis em relação aos indicadores de cunho econômico financeiro. Os indicadores econômicos e financeiros revelaram altos índices de correlação e diferenças entre médias entre si. Dos demais se destacaram, a relação de gasto com mão de obra /receita bruta e a perda com morte de animais. De acordo com os testes de correlação, a variável MARGEM DE EBITDA foi a que mais se correlacionou com os demais indicadores relacionados ao retorno financeiro da atividade e por isso foi a considerada a principal no controle financeiro das atividades produtivas. / Milk production chain in Brazil is characterized by deficiency in the use of financial management and to control the activity tools. Nowadays some researches are bringing to the rural environment the using of indicators of economic and financial source to complement those already used from technical origin as indicators of productivity, production scale etc. This study aimed to correlate technical, economic and financial indicators of milk-producing farms located in Minas Gerais state, Brazil, to find what indicators would be elected to follow and which would be more related to profitability and financial returns. Monthly data of 15 properties from Minas Gerais was collected between July 2012 and June 2013, as well as visiting and apllying questionnaire to all of them. The data were used to calculate the technical, economical and financial ratios and also to characterize the properties. The indicators were compared using Kruskal Wallis and Wilcoxon tests to compare means between the properties on three levels of return on investment. Then the Spearman correlation test was applied to calculate the indicators correlation of all variables in relation to financial end economical indicators. The economic and financial indicators showed high levels of correlation and mean differences between each other. The others that stood out was the ratio of spending on labor/gross income and losts with animal death. According to the correlation tests, the variable MARGIN OF EBITDA was more correlated with other indicators related to the financial return of the activity and therefore was considered the main financial control to use on productive activities.

Quel sens faut-il donner à la création le 29 brumaire an III d’Écoles d’économie rurale vétérinaire en remplacement des écoles vétérinaires héritées de l’Ancien Régime ? L’historiographie n’a jamais vraiment relevé ce qu’implique l’affirmation de l’économie rurale vétérinaire. Notre thèse est construite sur l’idée que la République directoriale correspond aussi à la formulation d’une des avancées fondatrices de nos sociétés démocratiques contemporaines : la volonté d’établir un projet politique qui intègre la pensée d’une écologie politique. Ce projet, c’est l’économie rurale républicaine. C’est cette proposition qui investit l’École d’Alfort dès les années 1780 avec l’entrée de grands savants tels que Vicq d’Azyr, Fourcroy ou Daubenton. La proclamation de la République correspond ensuite à un moment d’affirmation de cette proposition scientifique de l’économie rurale vétérinaire. Après le coup d’État de Brumaire, on assiste à mise en ordre impériale qui implique l’abandon de l’économie rurale républicaine. / What meaning should be given to the creation on 29 Brumaire Year III of Schools of rural veterinary economy to replace veterinary schools inherited from the Ancien Régime? Historiography has never really identified what the assertion of the rural veterinary economy implies. Our thesis is built on the idea that the directorial Republic corresponds to the formulation of one of the founding advances of our contemporary democratic societies: the will to establish a political project that integrates the thought of a political ecology. This project is the republican rural economy. It is this proposal that invests the School of Alfort in the 1780s with the entry of great academics professors such as Vicq d'Azyr, Fourcroy or Daubenton. The proclamation of the Republic corresponds to a moment of affirmation of this scientific proposal of the rural veterinary economy. After the coup of 18/19 Brumaire in the Year VIII, imperial order was put in place, implying the abandonment of the republican rural economy.

Poverty alleviation is a key item on the agenda of both government and non-governmental organisations. The use of indigenous knowledge to embark on small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) such as handicraft making has shown that it has a potential to yield the desired outcome in many areas. The research addressed the question: to what degree are handicrafts made in the Lowveld region of Swaziland and to what extent do these handicrafts contribute towards the livelihood of rural households? The data was collected using questionnaires and observations. Findings revealed that the production of handicrafts is the second most important livelihood activity for most respondents. Even though the income received from these activities is small, its significance lies in the timing at which it is received; and on its role in supporting existing livelihood activities. Sustainability of the business is, however, threatened by inaccessibility of resources, lack of organisation and trading challenges There is a need to promote the cultivation of natural resources, continuous training workshops and for women to form cooperatives or groups. Further research is needed that would focus on the following areas: a comparative study done in urban areas which shall also investigate the impact of handicraft on urban poor households; a study which will focus on handicraft marketing and consumption and lastly on the youth and handicraft. / Agriculture, Animal Health and Human Ecology / M.Sc. (Human Ecology)