Determinants of cooperative pig farmers' safe production behaviour in China——Evidences from perspective of cooperatives' services

Farmers＇ production behaviour is a key to ensuring the safety and quality of their final products, and cooperatives play an important role in shaping that behaviour. This paper aims to explore the determinants of pig farmers＇ safe production behaviour, giving special focus from the perspective of cooperatives＇ services. This study adopted cross sectional survey data from 27 pig cooperatives and their 540 farmers in China to test the influence of cooperatives＇ services on farmers＇ safe production behaviour. The hypotheses were tested using a logit regression model. The findings indicated that although the number of services is not a key determinant of farmers＇ safe production behaviour, service quality matters. When a cooperative is strongly capable of involving more farmers in certain services, and provides certain services in more frequency, member farmers behave more safely. The results also show that veterinarian and pig-selling services play an important role in ensuring farmers＇ safe production behaviour. For this study, the quality of cooperatives＇ services is implied to have a positive impact on farmers＇ safe production behaviour. Leaders/managers of cooperatives must try to improve the quality of their services instead of merely attempting to provide a large number of services. For government officials and policy makers, designing policies that encourage cooperatives to improve their service quality is important. This research contributes to the scant literature on how cooperative services could help farmers engage in safer production behaviour, which would improve the safety of pork products in the future.

Comparative Analysis on Farmers' Specialized Cooperatives from the Perspective of Agricultural Industry Chain

Taking three typical farmers' specialized cooperatives in Jingyuan County of Gansu Province as example,this paper compared with the operating mode of three cooperatives and their position in the agricultural industry chain,and analyzed operating characteristics,problems,and similarities of three cooperatives and their functions in the agricultural industry chain.The study indicated that the farmers' specialized cooperatives can accurately find their position in the agricultural industry chain.This is helpful for raising their comprehensive competitiveness and it is very important to manage the survival and development of farmers' specialized cooperatives,which is of utmost importance to their effective operation.According to this study,the government should strengthen its support,speed up the cultivation of new-type professional farmers,while farmers' specialized cooperatives should grasp the operating characteristics,locate themselves and integrate multi-resources.These are effective measures for promoting healthy operation of farmers' specialized cooperatives.

SWOT Analysis and Development Strategies for Chinese Farmers' Professional Cooperatives

With the development of China＇s market economy, the agricultural products＇ market has changed from the seller＇s market into the buyer＇s market. Therefore, the limitations of the household contract responsibility system gradually appeared. The farmers professional cooperatives not only covered the limitations but also effectively connected the small-scale farmers with the competitive market by increasing the farmers＇ organizational degree. However, during the development process of farmers＇ professional cooperatives, many problems were exposed. By using SWOT analysis belonging to the field of enterprise strategic management, this paper discussed the opportunities and threats of the external environment, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the internal environment of Chinese farmers＇ professional cooperatives. Thereby, it proposed some development strategies for Chinese farmers professional cooperatives in the current stage .

Research on the Problem Investigation and Standardized Improvement Paths of Farmers’ Cooperatives

Farmers’cooperatives are an important force to promote agricultural and rural modernization and rural revitalization.From an investigation,it is found that the development of some farmers’cooperatives is not standardized.Prominent problems are as follows:firstly,the operating mechanism is not standardized,and there is a contradiction between democratic decision-making and management efficiency;secondly,the supervision and management are not standardized,and some cooperatives even resort to deceit to obtain financial subsidies;thirdly,the distribution mechanism is not standardized,and core members invade the interests of small peasant households,so the motivation of ordinary peasant households to participate in cooperatives is not high.It is recommended to strengthen the assessment and supervision of cooperatives,implement the"late funding"model,improve the efficiency of financial support,strengthen the training of farmers,establish a interest linkage mechanism of farmers and cooperatives,protect the rights of members,and promote the standardized development of farmers’cooperatives.

The Disputes over "Normal Development" and "Natural Growth" of Farmers' Cooperatives——On the Basis of Empirical Analysis on Farmers' Cooperatives in Deyang City

Combining the disputes on the "normal development" and "natural growth" existing in farmers' cooperatives and according to the actual investigation statistics, the management model selection and regulation (including model selection, policy encouragement, operation scale and scale selection ) of farmers'cooperatives in Deyang City, share structure and governance structure( including the establishment way and share structure, reserve sharing and dividend distribution, organization structure and policy-making mechanism), capital raising situation and financial support of farmers' cooperatives in Deyang City are analyzed empirically. It is pointed out the farmers' cooperatives should take the road "normal development".

Farmers' Cooperatives'Poverty-Reducing Roles in Agricultural Supply Chain Finance

Agricultural supply chain finance(SCF)plays a vital role in reducing poverty and linking smallholders with broader markets.By creating a multi-dimensional poverty index(MPI)for farmer households with A-F binary boundary method,this paper employs the propensity score matching and difference-in-difference(PSM-DID)method to estimate how farmers’cooperatives run by various entities affect farmer households’multi-dimensional poverty status.Our findings suggest that:(i)Each percentage of increase in the probability of farmers’access to SCF credit from their cooperatives makes it 8%and 10%more likely for farmers’MPI and multi-dimensional poverty order to decrease with a signi ficant poverty-reducing effect.(2)SCF credit from farmers’cooperatives run by large farmers,agribusinesses and the village cadres are signi ficantly poverty-reducing for full-time poor farmers.(iii)The higher non-farm incomes as a share of farmers’total income,the less poverty-reducing SCF credit from farmers’cooperatives run by large farmers and villagers becomes,and the more poverty-reducing SCF credit for agribusiness everyone cooperatives becomes.These findings highlight the importance of policy guidance for farmers’cooperatives to offer appropriate credit products and solutions according to local conditions,which is vital to maximizing the effects of targeted financial poverty reduction.

Issues on Standardization of Farmers' Cooperatives in China

In the development of farmers' cooperatives,cooperative norm is a very important issue. It relates to an eternal topic in management: the balance between " fairness" and " efficiency". Because of the heterogeneity of cooperative members,the shortcomings of the distribution system and the balance between fairness and efficiency,China often has the phenomenon of " fake cooperatives". This requires the government,cooperatives and members to work together to regulate the development of cooperatives.

A Brief Analysis of Development of Tibetan Farmers＇ and Herdsmen＇s Economic Cooperatives--A Case Study of Nagqu Area

Through on-the-spot survey and research on the actual situation of agricultural cooperatives and the conditions of production and living of farmers and herdsmen in Nagqu,Tibet,going through a lot of literature,this paper studies and analyzes the development of local cooperative organizations of farmers and herdsmen,understands the actual benefits of cooperative organizations to farmers and herdsmen,aims to increase the income of farmers and herdsmen,and thus puts forward the main problems and measures on agricultural cooperatives in Nagqu area,in order to offer some suggestions for farmers and herdsmen to get rid of poverty through the conclusion of the study.

Empirical Research on the Developmental Status of Farmer Cooperatives' Function

In the paper, members in farmer cooperatives are selected as investigation subjects. By using fuzzy synthetic evaluation methods, functions of farmer cooperatives, which include six functions as follows: providing technology and information, marketing, processing and transportation, standardized services, and credit services and rights protection, are analyzed. The quantitative analysis is conducted on the developmental status of the functions of farmer cooperatives. The evaluation results are taken as evidence to anticipate the problems in the development of farmer cooperatives and then countermeasures are put forward, including intensifying the construction of actual functions of farmer cooperatives; contracting diversified credit and loan services; improving comprehensive strength of farmer cooperatives and taking the path of combining professional and comprehensive developmental paths. This study improves our knowledge on the development of farmer cooperatives and provides new insights to solve the problems that arise following the development.

Legislative Perfection of Governance Structure of Farmer Professional Cooperatives in China

The development of modern agriculture can not be separated from the development of farmer professional cooperatives,and the core of sustainable development of the cooperatives lies in the formation of relatively perfect governance structure.Chapter IV of Law on Farmer Professional Cooperatives of People's Republic of China stipulates the organization structure of cooperatives.However,because of historical reasons and limitation of legislative techniques,there is much omission in the institutional regulation of cooperative governance.Due to inadequate system supply of farmer professional cooperatives and deficiency in related rights and obligations,normative guidance can not be provided for the governance practice of farmer professional cooperatives in China,thereby leading to the inefficiency of cooperative management.Therefore,it is imminent to revise the law.

International Experience of Farmers Specialized Cooperative Economic Organizations in Marketing of Agricultural Products

In the world,development modes of farmers specialized cooperative economic organizations mainly includes two types:( i) specialized agricultural cooperatives with the United States of America as representative,and( ii) comprehensive agricultural cooperatives with Japan and South Korea as representative. In comparison,China mainly develops farmers specialized cooperatives which are agricultural production with family as unit and small in land and management scale like agricultural production in Japan. Therefore,in marketing of agricultural products,cooperatives in the United States of America and Japan have successful experience. China may learn such experience in the development of farmers specialized cooperatives.

Financial Management in New Types of Agricultural Businesses——A Case Study of Farmer's Cooperatives in Weixian County

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China( CPC),with the help of state policies,the new types of agricultural businesses have been flourishing. As one of the important forces of new types of agricultural businesses,the farmer's specialized cooperatives grow up rapidly in the development of the rural economy because of their characteristics which are consistent with the current rural economy. financial management is the core of the operation of farmer cooperatives,which directly affects the long-term sustainable development of cooperatives. Through the survey and analysis of the financial management of many farmers' cooperatives in Wei County,Hebei Province,this paper puts forward the deficiencies in the existing financial management of cooperatives. It also brings some reasonable suggestions to regulate and improve the financial management of cooperatives,in order to enhance the market competitiveness of farmers' cooperatives and realize better sustainable development of farmers' cooperatives.

Operating in Tandem Chinese experts in Sao Tome and Principe cooperate with local farmers to raise medical standards in the breeding industry

Santomean pig farmer Simao Vicente was hopeful when he came to ask Zou Rui for help. His pig was suffering from hernia, and Zou, a 42-year-old Chinese agricultural expert working in Sao Tomé and Príncipe, was the only person on the island who could provide emergency surgery.

Food safety controls in different governance structures in China's vegetable and fruit industry

Food safety issues constitute an international topic discussed by many scholars. Although there is an extensive body of literature on comparisons of food safety control practices across different governance structures, these studies have been conducted mainly in terms of qualitative and descriptive analysis. In addition, little attention has been given to family farms. This study addresses the food safety control practices adopted by firms with different governance structures in China. Food safety control is expressed by the following aspects, i.e., pollution-free, green, organic, and/or geographical indication prod- ucts certification, establishment of production records, and pesticide residue testing. Three types of governance structures that engage in agricultural production are distinguished： farmer cooperatives, agricultural companies, and family farms. The food safety control practices of various governance structures are investigated based on a database that comprises 600 vegetable and fruit enterprises in Zhejiang, China. The results show that （1） pesticide residue testing is adopted by the most firms, followed by products certification, and production records are adopted by the fewest firms, and （2） agricul- tural companies adopt more food safety control practices than family farms, while farmer cooperatives adopt the fewest food safety control practices. Governance structure features of a cooperative in terms of ownership, decision-making, and income distribution are the main reasons for the low level of food safety control in the cooperative.

The contribution of cooperative irrigation scheme to poverty reduction in Tanzania

Irrigation system is a scare resource in most of drought-stricken Africa.How to manage and maintain the existing irrigation facilities in Africa is a debatable issue to both policy makers and beneficiaries.Irrigation facilities run by farmer cooperatives are considered ineffective,unsuccessful and dysfunctional in Tanzania by many researchers.A cooperative irrigation scheme is a mechanism that features the collective management of rural irrigation facilities by farmers'cooperative with some government intervention and external support.There is an increasing emphasis on the roles of cooperative irrigation scheme in the development of the agriculture sector and poverty reduction of smallholder farmers.In this study,the authors investigated the management and services of this scheme and analyzed its contribution to poverty reduction of smallholder rice farmers and community development in Tanzania through both quantitative and qualitative methods.The results showed that the scheme helped smallholder farmers increase the rice production and brought better market opportunities.The farmers'net income was also increased.Profit generated from rice farming not only improved the livelihoods of smallholder farmers but also created more employment opportunities in the rural communities.The research also revealed that the scheme was faced with a number of challenges due to resource and institutional constraints and low-level human capacity for both management and members.The research provides a feasible approach to effective management of small-scale agricultural infrastructure for poverty reduction in Africa.

Research on Agricultural Co-efficiency of Farmer Professional Cooperative Unions

Various farmer professional cooperative unions( FPCUs) have emerged and flourished along with the development of rural economy in recent years. Compared with the independent cooperatives,the FPCUs can integrate the union's structure and have more cooperation in business. In a wider range,it can also let every member of the union exchange the market information efficiently,and adjust the circulation of cash products,share the technology,generate a mechanism to complement each other's advantages and help each other. The basic situation and effects of farmer professional cooperative unions in Jingzhou City of Hubei Province are analyzed in this paper,by selecting Jing Chu Fu Min Agricultural Cooperative Union,Jianli Fu Wa San Feng Farmer Specialized Cooperative Union and Honghu Chun Lu Agricultural Cooperative Union as typical cases. The prominent problems in the agricultural cooperation are analyzed emphatically,and then the corresponding measures and suggestions are put forward.