MSCAGR / Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness / Poverty and unemployment are the main problems facing many people in the Vhembe District Municipality. Due to these main problems, most people turn into farming as a tool to reduce poverty, ensure food security and create employment in their rural communities. Because of high production and marketing costs, farmers often find it difficult to pool their resources together in order to raise farm income and substantially improve their living conditions. In order to deal with this problem, farmers form cooperatives to pool their resources for increased agricultural productivity, employment creation and poverty reduction. The study assessed the role of agricultural cooperatives in poverty reduction within the rural communities of the Vhembe District Municipality. The research study was a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research method. There are 70 agricultural cooperatives producing field crops and vegetables in Vhembe District. A clustered random sample of the 4 Local Municipalities within Vhembe District Municipality was employed. It involved the selection of 9 cooperatives from Thulamela, 3 cooperatives each from Makhado and Mutale respectively and 1 cooperative from Musina. Relevant data was collected from both primary and secondary sources. Descriptive and Binary logistic regression modelling was used to analyse data. The study revealed that socio-economic characteristics of respondents have an impact on the role agricultural cooperatives play in reducing poverty. The study further showed that agricultural cooperatives play a significant role in reducing poverty and ensuring food security to members’ households. The respondents showed a positive response in the effectiveness of cooperatives in poverty reduction. The study also showed that cooperatives have a significant role in creating employment opportunities. Cooperatives were also faced with various challenges which hinder their success in poverty reduction. Some of the challenges include; market access, lack of funding, conflicts within cooperatives and high electricity costs. The study concludes by recommending different strategies which will enhance the success of cooperatives in poverty reduction. Further studies concentrating on poverty reduction, food security and employment creation need to be carried-out which will help cooperatives respondents to eradicate poverty in their households and communities.

Agriculture in Slovakia has historically gone through many stages of development. In the past, it was the main livelihood strategy for rural populations, where it reinforced social bonds and cooperation. Socialistic collectivization and the creation of Common agricultural cooperatives (JRDs) represented a violent transition that did not respect the historical and cultural traditions and their development. They resulted in rural populations losing their connection with the soil and marked the beginning of the deterioration of Slovak agriculture and depopulation of rural areas. JRDs were thus a massive blow for the character of Slovak countryside. Natural and climate conditions had been until that time the main factors shaping the architecture, which was therefore specific to every region. After JRDs’ arrival, outbuildings of family farms were slowly replaced with uniform large-scale structures. With the scale of these buildings not matching the surrounding environment and context, the aesthetic and residential value of rural areas was distorted. After the fall of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia and the incipient restitutions that followed, the intended revival of bonds between people and their soil never materialized. “Cooperatives” became companies struggling for survival in the now open market and farmers remained their employees. The importance of the countryside has risen in terms of its residential value, but severely deteriorated in the economic sense. Traditions surviving with the original rural populations mix with new modern elements of the in-migrating urban populations. A number of these cooperatives have gone bankrupt, with their premises abandoned, neglected and becoming derelict. Others have survived only to see most of their agricultural productivity decline relative to competition, which, too, resulted in many of their buildings being unutilized and neglected. Since these JRDs used to be part of the majority of villages, with 2759 rural settlements in Slovakia, their number is bound to be very high. They have left a deep imprint in the countryside which occupies soil and hinders the villages in their development. Is it therefore necessary for every village to have their own cooperative, if they tend to be either abandoned or utilized only partially? Transformation of this space into an area serving locals, supporting reinforcement of their social bonds and bonds with the village itself. Opening up former cooperatives for the rural populations.

Thesis (M.Dev. ( Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Cooperatives are recognised as an important instrument to reduce poverty, create employment, achieve economic growth and development. As a result, smallholder farmers with common interests have organised themselves and registered agricultural cooperatives. However, the operational performance of smallholder agricultural cooperatives for sustainable community development has remained poor. The purpose of the study is to explore the operational performance of smallholder agricultural cooperatives for sustainable community development in Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality in Limpopo Province. Mixed research design was used in this study. Data was collected from sixty participants, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used to collect primary data for both quantitative and qualitative methods. The study found that smallholder agricultural cooperatives in the area of the study face challenges such as lack of managerial skills, poor governance, lack of adequate financial support and access to loans, lack of clarity on policy as well as lack of alternative strategies. The main findings of the study confirmed that there are challenges associated with the operational performance for sustainable community development. Inadequate financial support and lack of managerial skills were regarded as the main challenges that hinder the operational performance for sustainable community development. The study has suggested alternative strategies and recommendations that can assist smallholder agricultural cooperatives to improve their operational performance for sustainable community development.

The study was undertaken to establish the role that should be played by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) to strengthen existing second-tier agricultural cooperatives in South Africa to ensure that they are able to provide support services to member cooperatives. Ten existing second-tier agricultural cooperatives in the Zululand district of the province of Kwazulu Natal took part in the study. The results indicate that although these cooperatives understand the services to provide, they lack capacity mainly due to lack of the necessary infrastructure, finance and skills. The study recommends that DAFF should recognise the significance of this tier of cooperatives and provide direct and focused support. DAFF should develop a Cooperative Development Strategy for the sector that clearly articulates how it is going to support this level of cooperatives. Among others DAFF should also provide initial infrastructure to these cooperatives and facilitate private-public-partnership initiatives. / Public Administration & Management / M. Tech. (Public Management)

O prejuízo causado por chuvas de granizo é um dos principais problemas enfrentados pelos produtores de maçã no Brasil e em outros países. O trabalho apresenta, a partir de uma revisão abrangente da literatura e pesquisas de campo realizadas em região produtora do Estado de Santa Catarina, uma caracterização do problema e das alternativas existentes para a definição de estratégias ótimas para o gerenciamento do risco existente. As alternativas consideradas incluíram: seguro comercial, seguro mútuo, diversificação espacial, telas anti- granizo, foguetes anti- granizo e geradores de solo. O trabalho utiliza um modelo conceitual, especificado num diagrama de decisão e dados levantados na pesquisa, para evidenciar a relação qualitativa e quantitativa existente entre as diferentes alternativas consideradas e as variáveis mais relevantes para caracterização do problema. O modelo definido no diagrama de decisão foi implementado em software, em planilha eletrônica, de forma a facilitar o processo de seleção das melhores alternativas para gestão do risco de granizo, a partir da situação existente com relação a preços, custos e outras informações relevantes. Esse software foi utilizado em estudo de caso realizado junto a uma cooperativa de produtores de maçã de São Joaquim, SC, para a análise quantitativa das alternativas levantadas. O trabalho visa fornecer subsídios técnicos que auxiliem os agricultores no processo de tomada de decisão quanto à estratégia mais adequada para a administração do risco de chuvas de granizo em seus pomares, auxiliem as empresas de seguro na elaboração de novos contratos em suas carteiras agrícolas e, também, o governo no desenvolvimento de novas políticas voltadas ao setor agropecuário. / The damage caused by hailstorms is one of the most important problems faced by the apple producers, in Brazil, and in other countries. This work presents, from a literature review and local surveys within the apple producing region in Santa Catarina State, Brazil, a characterization of the hail risk problem and an evaluation of existing alternatives for risk management. The alternatives considered in the risk management process included: commercial insurance, mutual insurance, spatial diversification, antihail nets, hail rockets and ground burners. Besides, the research presents a conceptual model that uses decision diagrams to describe the qualitative relationship among the different alternatives for administration of the hail risk and the most important variables for the problem. The decision diagram guided the development of a software tool designed to help the selection of the best combination of alternatives for hail risk management. This software tool, implemented in a spreadsheet, was used in a case study involving an association of apple producers in São Joaquim, SC. The intention of this work is to aid apple producers in the selection of the most appropriate strategy for the administration of the risk of hailstorms in their orchards, aid the insurance companies in the design of new contracts in your agricultural portfolio and, also, aid the government in the development of new agricultural policies.

O prejuízo causado por chuvas de granizo é um dos principais problemas enfrentados pelos produtores de maçã no Brasil e em outros países. O trabalho apresenta, a partir de uma revisão abrangente da literatura e pesquisas de campo realizadas em região produtora do Estado de Santa Catarina, uma caracterização do problema e das alternativas existentes para a definição de estratégias ótimas para o gerenciamento do risco existente. As alternativas consideradas incluíram: seguro comercial, seguro mútuo, diversificação espacial, telas anti- granizo, foguetes anti- granizo e geradores de solo. O trabalho utiliza um modelo conceitual, especificado num diagrama de decisão e dados levantados na pesquisa, para evidenciar a relação qualitativa e quantitativa existente entre as diferentes alternativas consideradas e as variáveis mais relevantes para caracterização do problema. O modelo definido no diagrama de decisão foi implementado em software, em planilha eletrônica, de forma a facilitar o processo de seleção das melhores alternativas para gestão do risco de granizo, a partir da situação existente com relação a preços, custos e outras informações relevantes. Esse software foi utilizado em estudo de caso realizado junto a uma cooperativa de produtores de maçã de São Joaquim, SC, para a análise quantitativa das alternativas levantadas. O trabalho visa fornecer subsídios técnicos que auxiliem os agricultores no processo de tomada de decisão quanto à estratégia mais adequada para a administração do risco de chuvas de granizo em seus pomares, auxiliem as empresas de seguro na elaboração de novos contratos em suas carteiras agrícolas e, também, o governo no desenvolvimento de novas políticas voltadas ao setor agropecuário. / The damage caused by hailstorms is one of the most important problems faced by the apple producers, in Brazil, and in other countries. This work presents, from a literature review and local surveys within the apple producing region in Santa Catarina State, Brazil, a characterization of the hail risk problem and an evaluation of existing alternatives for risk management. The alternatives considered in the risk management process included: commercial insurance, mutual insurance, spatial diversification, antihail nets, hail rockets and ground burners. Besides, the research presents a conceptual model that uses decision diagrams to describe the qualitative relationship among the different alternatives for administration of the hail risk and the most important variables for the problem. The decision diagram guided the development of a software tool designed to help the selection of the best combination of alternatives for hail risk management. This software tool, implemented in a spreadsheet, was used in a case study involving an association of apple producers in São Joaquim, SC. The intention of this work is to aid apple producers in the selection of the most appropriate strategy for the administration of the risk of hailstorms in their orchards, aid the insurance companies in the design of new contracts in your agricultural portfolio and, also, aid the government in the development of new agricultural policies.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Historically, the cooperatives are configured as collective arrangements with direct action on the needs of their associates. The cooperative system is expressive in both economic and social aspects, however, it is noticeable that the sector is undergoing a restructuring, given the downward trend in the number of enterprises, and especially in Rio Grande do Sul, where it has decreased of 31% from 2010 to 2013. This reduction in agricultural sector accounted for 14% in the same time period, which reinforces a need for readjustment of the management and governance system in agricultural cooperatives. Whether in literature or in the cooperative sector, it is a recurring approach that the opportunism and the lack of loyalty of members are the central problems faced by cooperatives. These organizations, without the loyalty of members, while they lose the sense of their existence, they also lose the operational and scale efficiency which puts the enterprise in disadvantage in its operating segment. For this thesis context and according to Williamson s approach, the governance is shaped by means of norms, rules, contracts, monitoring and incentives, to guarantee the continuity of a transaction in which potential conflicts threaten the achievement of cooperation. The loyalty of associates to the cooperative is understood as being the main characteristic of the cooperation. Thus, this thesis debates the relationship between the governance adopted by the cooperatives and the loyalty of members. Therefore, it was aimed to analyze gaps in governance of agricultural cooperatives in Rio Grande do Sul and their relationship on the loyalty of associates. This thesis was based upon the New Institutional Economics (NIE) approach: Property Rights, Agency Theory and Transaction Cost Economics. To perform this research, qualitative and quantitative methods were used. The qualitative phase consisted of in-depth interviews with experts in cooperatives. The information was categorized and examined through the technique of content analysis. The quantitative phase was characterized by a questionnaire sent to the agricultural cooperatives of Rio Grande do Sul. Descriptive and multivariate statistics were used. In the multivariate statistics case a factor analysis was performed, so that the sets of factors that influence the loyalty of members could be identified. Afterwards, regression analysis allowed to verify the direction and the intensity of the impact of these factors on loyalty. The main results pointed out that the governance adopted by the cooperatives is not the most efficient, i.e., governance and the offered incentives do not minimize transaction costs in order to maintain (and increase) the loyalty of members with the cooperative. Thus, a conceptual model was proposed for the gaps in governance. The model embraces six dimensions: Contractual Gaps; Operational Gaps; Communication Gaps; Management Gaps; Audit Gaps and Immediate Benefits Offer Gaps. The quantitative analysis indicated that the higher the Audit Committee Effectiveness it tends to be higher the loyalty of members, with about 17% of loyalty explained by the effectiveness of the audit board. / Historicamente, as cooperativas se configuraram como arranjos coletivos com atuação direta nas necessidades de seus associados. O sistema cooperativo é expressivo tanto nos aspectos econômicos como sociais, no entanto, percebe-se que o setor vem passando por uma reestruturação, haja vista a tendência de redução no número de empreendimentos, especialmente no Rio Grande do Sul, onde se teve um decréscimo de 31% de 2010 para 2013. No ramo agropecuário essa redução representou 14% no mesmo período, o que reforça uma necessidade de readequação do sistema de gestão e da governança nas cooperativas agropecuárias. Recorrente é a abordagem, seja na literatura ou no setor cooperativista, de que as ações oportunísticas e a falta de fidelidade dos associados são problemas centrais que as cooperativas enfrentam. Sem a fidelidade do cooperado, estas organizações, ao mesmo tempo em que perdem o sentido da sua existência, perdem em eficiência operacional e de escala, o que coloca o empreendimento em desvantagem no segmento de atuação. Para o contexto dessa tese, e a partir da abordagem de Williamson, a governança é a forma de, por meio de normas, regras, contratos, monitoramentos e incentivos, se garantir a continuidade de uma transação, na qual conflitos potenciais ameaçam a realização da cooperação. A fidelidade dos associados para com a cooperativa é entendida como sendo a principal característica da cooperação. Assim, esta tese versa sobre a relação da governança adotada pelas cooperativas com a fidelização dos cooperados. Dessa forma, objetivou-se analisar as falhas de governança de cooperativas agropecuárias do Rio Grande do Sul e suas relações com a fidelidade dos cooperados. Como fundamentação, foram utilizadas as abordagens teóricas da Nova Economia Institucional (NEI): Direitos de Propriedade, Teoria da Agência e Economia dos Custos de Transação. Para a operacionalização da pesquisa, foram utilizados métodos quantitativos e qualitativos. A fase qualitativa consistiu na realização de entrevistas em profundidade com experts em cooperativismo. As informações foram categorizadas e trabalhadas por meio da técnica de análise de conteúdo. A fase quantitativa caracterizou-se pelo envio de questionário para as cooperativas agropecuárias do Rio Grande do Sul. Foram utilizadas estatísticas descritivas e multivariadas. No caso das multivariadas, realizou-se a análise fatorial, para que se pudesse identificar os conjuntos de fatores que influenciam na fidelidade dos cooperados. Posteriormente, a análise de regressão permitiu verificar o sentido e a intensidade do impacto dos fatores na fidelidade. Os principais resultados apontaram que a governança adotada pelas cooperativas não é a mais eficiente, ou seja, a governança e os incentivos oferecidos não minimizam os custos de transação, de forma a se manter (e aumentar) a fidelidade dos sócios com a cooperativa. Assim, propôs-se um modelo conceitual para as falhas de governança. O modelo abrange seis dimensões: Falhas Contratuais; Falhas Operacionais; Falhas de Comunicação; Falhas de Gestão; Falhas de Fiscalização e Falhas na Oferta de Benefícios Imediatos. A análise quantitativa indicou que quanto maior a Efetividade do Conselho Fiscal , maior tende a ser a fidelidade dos cooperados, sendo que cerca de 17% da fidelidade é explicada pela efetividade do conselho fiscal.

The study was undertaken to establish the role that should be played by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) to strengthen existing second-tier agricultural cooperatives in South Africa to ensure that they are able to provide support services to member cooperatives. Ten existing second-tier agricultural cooperatives in the Zululand district of the province of Kwazulu Natal took part in the study. The results indicate that although these cooperatives understand the services to provide, they lack capacity mainly due to lack of the necessary infrastructure, finance and skills. The study recommends that DAFF should recognise the significance of this tier of cooperatives and provide direct and focused support. DAFF should develop a Cooperative Development Strategy for the sector that clearly articulates how it is going to support this level of cooperatives. Among others DAFF should also provide initial infrastructure to these cooperatives and facilitate private-public-partnership initiatives. / Public Administration and Management / M. Tech. (Public Management)

PhD (Agricultural Economics) / Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness / The high attrition rate of cooperatives in Limpopo Province is a great concern considering that cooperatives globally and in South Africa have been esteemed to play a role in rural development and poverty reduction. The problem of attrition is a threat in the development of our societies. In response to this, the study investigated the formation of cooperatives, influence of social, human capital and household characteristics. The study also assessed the differences that can be used to discriminate cooperatives earning monthly income and those without a monthly income. The main aim of the study was to develop a framework that could be used to create sustainable cooperatives in the future in Limpopo Province. The study was conducted in five districts of Limpopo Province namely: Sekhukhune, Waterberg, Mopani, Capricorn and Vhembe. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire from 146 cooperatives. Key respondents were cooperatives leaders. Focus group data from Mopani district cooperatives was used to provide a background to the researcher in the development of the framework. Focus group discussion information was only used by the researcher in order to understand the cooperative member’s views. Purposive sampling was used to select a sample of 146 cooperatives due to the availability and accessibility of the cooperatives. SPSS analytical tool was used to analyse the data. Models used in the study were Binary logistic, Multinomial and Discriminant analysis. The findings of the study revealed that household characteristics such as gender, member affiliation affected the formation of legitimate cooperatives. Social capital indicators such as access to information and benefits derived by relatives encouraged the need for funding. However human capital indicators were found not to influence the need for external funding. The study also discovered that there were major differences between cooperatives earning a monthly income and those without the income. There were various benefits derived from the cooperatives by members. The study concluded that for cooperatives to be sustainable, focus should be on human capital, extension services and improvement of the level of education. The notion is that an informed, trained and educated cooperative society is the future.