The Development of Agricultural Producers' Cooperatives in Ethiopia: Cases from Arsi Region
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Date
1989-06
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A.A.U
Abstract
This thesis is directed at the performance evaluation of the
cooperatives sub sector - both at the macro and micro levels- as well as
the study of the problems of development of the cooperate vies with a
view of making recommendations which may enhance the development of the
agricultural sector in general and the cooperative sector in particular .
Results indicate that the performance of the cooperative sub
sector at the macro level have been less than satisfactory . While the
cooperative farms are becoming more and more resource intensive, productive
Vities of the main factor s of production, l and labor are declining .
This imply a need to counteract against factors which cause the decline .
The climatic condition is one nbviou5 cause. The need to counteract
the drought condition on the one hand, and the availability huge ,
labor or, the other then suggests labor investment towards the
development of irrigated agriculture. Macro level studies also indicated
poor performance of the cooperative sector compiled with the individual
and state farms in terms of yield . From the view point of maximizing
returns from l and to the society, this suggests retaining land under
private holdings than placing them under cooperatives , which in turn may
imply a slow rate of growth of t hat sub sector .
The performance evaluation of the cooperatives at the micro level
was specifically directed at looking in to their allocate efficiency.
Towards that end this study was conducted on 26 agricultural producers'
cooperatives in Arsi Region . These cooperatives were classified into
groups on the bas is of techno logical factors. Representative farms
were derived from each group and Linear Programming mode l s were developed
for each of the representative farms . comparison of the acute
with the optima pattern indicated sub-optimality their cropping
pattern,. In all cases results suggested a reallocation of land away from
the two basic products of the region. great and barley to other crops .
The optimal pattern which was obtained from the computer analysis
differed from one typical farm to another - a situation which suggest
a differentiated l and use policy.
as far as resource use is concerned, l and, in the optimal solution
was found to be a limiting factor, in all the cooperatives, whose
marginal value product increases with a decrease in land - labor ratio
suggesting a need for an appropriate land holding and land allocation
policy for each of the cooperatives with takes resource availability of
the cooperatives into account. Our study also showed underutilization of
plowing labor and ox power. still, however, during this operational
of
period cooperatives utilize hired tractors. Underutilization/labor and
Ox power, on the one hdnd, and the use of harder tractors on the other
then implies a need to ovoid hired tractors, which, in turn suggest a
need to look into the governments' policy of hiring stat ions. The
Optimal solution also showed that weeding, harvesting and/or threshing
labor are Limiting for same cooperatives. in these cooperatives,
However, there exists abundant unutilized family labor. This then
suggest a need to draw policy which will ensure the flow of f family
labor into the operations of the cooper actives. in most of the
socialistic countries this problem .was resolved by introducing family
contract system
The study also indicated a number. of problems which hamper the
development of cooperatives. one important problems is the input - out
put pricing system which creates disincentive on the cooperatives to
increase their products . This problem is mainly the result of the
Marketing policy of the government which restrict s the cooperatives sale
of their produce to the AMC a problem whose solution call for the
Introduction of competition the in the of inputs and the. Sale of
output. other problems in clued the problem of declining income of
Members which cannot cover their expenditure, problems of forced member
and absence of democracy in the decision milking process, the solutions
of which respectively require untying labor from,1I unnecessary operations
of the cooperatives, so that it may create additional income, by introducing
the family contract system, establishing the cooperatives in accordance
with the principle of voluntarism and enhancing members' participation in
the decision making process.
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Keywords
Agricultural Producers, Arsi Region