Thesis (MSc. Agriculture (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The South African agricultural sector plays an important role in creating jobs, alleviating food insecurity and poverty, and also contributes to exports. Agricultural produce from smallholder farmers is often lost after production due numerous marketing challenges which make it difficult for smallholder farmers to explore full market potentials. This, among other challenges, reduces smallholder farmers’ motivation to participate in formal (commercial) or high-value markets. The study aimed at assessing factors hindering marketing among smallholder vegetable cooperative farmers in the Polokwane Municipality. The objectives of the study were to: identify and describe socio-economic characteristics of smallholder vegetable cooperative farmers; examine the influence of socioeconomic characteristics of smallholder vegetable cooperative farmers; identify factors hindering marketing among smallholder vegetable cooperative farmers and constraints faced by smallholder vegetable cooperative farmers in the study area. Primary data with a sample size of hundred and twenty smallholder vegetable cooperative farmers was used. Descriptive statistics, the Marketing Hindrance Index and Tobit Model were employed as analytical tools to achieve the objectives of the study. Results of data analysis revealed that there are factors hindering marketing among smallholder vegetable cooperative farmers in the Polokwane Municipality. The major factors affecting smallholder farmers are source of water and types of vegetables grown, respectively. From the Tobit Model results, access to credit, access to reliable information about marketing, age, access to storage and farming experience in years were found to be significant. In view of the research findings, the recommendations of this study include: encouraging youth participation in agriculture, improved access to agricultural information and formal market access, improved access to credit and enabling accessibility through the development of better infrastructure in the form of storage facilities.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 1978. / INLEIDING: Die doel van hierdie tesis is om die invloed van belastingpligtigheid op die finansiële beplanning van graankoöperasies in Wes-Kaapland te ontleed en die bevindings te publiseer voordat die eerste landboukoöperasie belastingpligtig word. Teoreties is hierdie vroegste datum 31 Maart 1978 wat dus na die publikasie van hierdie tesis sal plaasvind.

The agricultural interests of the United States and Utah have experienced some trying situations during the past quarter century. Periods of depression followed by periods of expansion and prosperity have resulted in a condition of instability and insecurity in agriculture. The effect of alternate periods of prosperiy and depression in agriculture becomes increasingly important as agriculture changes from self-sufficing to commercialized types of business enterprises. Many of the difficulties inherent in the present complex social and captial structure were of minor significances in the early types of agricultural activities. Changing conditions in agriculture and in social institutions in general have necessitated that action be taken in behalf of agriculture; that some of the disturbances and chaos resulting from rapidly changing economic conditions might be mitigated. Many attempts have been made to relieve the undesirable situations which have prevailed in our agricultural industry. Some measures of relief have been supplied by various legislative action; other movements have resulted from activities on the part of farmers' organizations. Among the remedies proposed for relieving the depressed agricultural situation was movement for cooperative enterprise, especially those adventures in the realm of cooperative marketing. This movement, accordng to many, was to serve as the panacea or "cure all" for the undesirable disturbances in the field of agriculture. With the general evolution of the cooperative idea as a possible remedy for agricultural ills, government aid was solicited in an effort to promote and encourage agricultural cooperation. Various legislative acts, both state and federal, were passed and numerous political gestures made in the farmer's behalf. This was largely the result of the realization of a long felt need on the part of agricultural leaders; however to some extent it may have been an act of political strategy by those desiring the support of the national farm bloc. No matter what the reason, the fat remained that sentiment was created and interest was secured favoring the development of agricultural cooperatives. Farm organizations, professional promoters, agricultural extension services, and other educational institutions have all exerted an influence ont he character and direction of cooperative development. Just what effect this cooperative movement has had on the agricultural situation in Utah and its present status, is the primary purpose of this treatise. The historical background and development of cooperative tendencies will be presented briefly in an effort to show the growth and development of cooperative marketing along with its present economic status in Utah. The purpose of this study is to analyze and interpret the historical growth and development of farmers' cooperative marketing organizations in Utah along with an appraisal of their present economic status.

Cooperatives are commonplace in the dairy sector throughout the developed world. A cooperative is an organization whose patrons are those who contribute the capital. Two features that distinguish a cooperative are: profits are distributed by member patronage, and member control is democratic. In theory, this organizational form cannot sustainably capture economic rents. Members adjust their production until any captured rents are eliminated, restoring the competitive solution. In British Columbia, the dairy industry is regulated by supply management. Production quotas control output, while fanner returns are guaranteed by restricting imports and administering the price. All milk is pooled, and processors need not deal directly with dairy producers. A simple model of the BC dairy industry, with farm production or processor input as the only variable, shows that the ‘competitive yardstick’ is not maintained. The industry wide milk pool decouples the cooperative from its membership. When this cooperative maximizes its patronage dividend, supply management totally separates it from its members incentives. Given that the administrative price is not set to eliminate all processing rents, the positive patronage dividend is an incentive for all farmers to join the cooperative. Simultaneously, a competing IOF can capture rents because it is buying milk at the pooi price and does not compete with the cooperative for its input needs. The financial statements of the Fraser Valley Milk Producers Cooperative Association lend support to the model. Based on performance ratios, this cooperative is behaving similar to other firms in the dairy industry, and may be capturing rents on behalf of its members. The one area of discrepancy is in the source of financing, and this can be largely explained by changing member investment preferences. Our model predicts that in B.C. the price of quota should be dependent on the return generated by our theoretical cooperative. We find that the present perfonnance of the cooperative is not a useful predictor of the quota price. However, quota price appears to be closely linked to indicators of future economic performance, and the sign of this linkage is consistent with our model.

In recent years the three Prairie Pools have actively expanded their primary operations to include a number of investments both within and outside of the agricultural sector. The Pools' investment strategies are economically interesting because they are being pursued within the context of a co-operative organizational structure which requires that the users of the cooperative business also own, control, and benefit from its operations. This thesis examines the possible economic incentives agricultural co-operatives may have to invest in vertically integrated and diversified activities using the case of the Western Canadian co-operative elevator companies as an example. The analysis undertaken in this thesis is structured in two ways. First, the economic literature regarding co-operative formation and conventional firm expansion is surveyed. This analysis suggests that an important difference between vertically integrated investments and diversified investments is that they are motivated by the realization of distincly different sets of economic benefits for the co-operative firm and its members. It is argued that co-operative vertical integration can convey benefits to members indirectly through the market, in the form of increased producer margins and improved market access. However, these benefits may not impact the "bottom line" of the co-operative firm. Diversification can, on the other hand, provide a co-operative with direct monetary benefits in the form of improved financial performance and increased profits, which can translate into increased patronage refunds available to members. The second component of this analysis involves the development of a simulation model to examine the implications of an additional hypothesis proposed to explain co-operative expansion. The proposed hypothesis is based on the notion that perhaps the indirect market benefits from cooperation and co-operative expansion are being undervalued. This undervaluation can result in a preoccupation with the monetary benefits from co-operative business, and may therefore cause a bias towards diversified investments. The model developed in this thesis illustrates that, although such a bias may improve a co-operative's rate of return, it may also result in significant opportunity costs for agricultural producers due to a decrease in a co-operative's pro-competitive effect on primary markets.

No description available.

Thesis (Honors)--College of William and Mary, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-41). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (January 11, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-88)

Published also as a Thesis (Ph. D.) Princeton University. / Xerox microfiche facsimile.

Thesis (M.S.)--Wisconsin State University at La Crosse.