Farmer’s Cooperatives

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Description

"Farmer’s Cooperatives: these cooperative structures come in several forms, including land-owning coops, or cooperative food processors as alternatives to the giant, vertically-integrated food corporations. Farmers’ cooperatives make it possible for food producers to process and market their own products, rather than being held captive by a few large buyers who set prices and conditions of food production. Another type of farmers’ cooperative is essentially a consumer cooperative, with food producers banding together to buy needed fuel, for example, at more favorable prices." (https://www.initiativeforequality.org/index.php/2011-11-22-23-04-42/new-economic-models)


Discussion

"Farmers’ cooperatives can be so strong that they pose a perceived threat to the private model of farm ownership. In Honduras, campesinos first started organizing farming collectives and cooperatives back in the 1960s and '70s*. In the 1990s, however, a temporary change to a previous law preventing large land purchases devastated the farming cooperatives of the region. The 1990s land grab was shrouded in corruption and violence, according to Bird: "literally through kidnappings, at gunpoint and through corrupt methods and practices, much of the land was 'sold' to wealthy individuals." Former Honduran President Zelaya’s administration had announced a decree on June 12, 2009, which contained the intention to return much of land to the campesino groups via a commission formed to do so. The process of investigating land titles to determine authenticity and validity had just begun when a coup overthrew Zelaya, interrupting the process. Today, key people involved in the organization of these farmers’ cooperatives are being murdered, presumably by those who prefer the wealth of this rich agricultural land to remain in the hands of a few." (https://www.initiativeforequality.org/index.php/2011-11-22-23-04-42/new-economic-models)


More Information

See articles at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_cooperative

http://www.equalexchange.coop/farmer-partners