Working with other producers.
WHAT COOPERATIVES PROVIDE
Buying inputs in volume, at better prices Access to buyers requiring larger volumes Shared equipment Access to programmes and finance Collective bargaining
WHY THEY MATTER FOR SMALL PRODUCERS
Individually they lack the volume that buyers and programmes require.
WHAT REGISTRATION REQUIRES
Registration with the relevant state cooperative authority A constitution Members Elected officers
WHAT TO ESTABLISH BEFORE JOINING ONE
Who runs it How decisions are made How money is handled What it has actually achieved
WHY THAT LAST QUESTION
Many exist on paper and function poorly.
WHAT MAKES COOPERATIVES FAIL
Poor financial management Officers acting without accountability Members not contributing Unclear rules Disputes about money
WHAT PREVENTS THAT
Clear rules, applied Proper accounts More than one signatory Regular meetings with records Elections that actually occur
WHAT TO ESTABLISH ABOUT MONEY
Who holds it Who authorises spending How members see the accounts
WHY TRANSPARENCY MATTERS MOST
Suspicion about money destroys cooperatives faster than anything else.
WHAT TO CONTRIBUTE
Participation, which is what makes them work.
WHAT TO AVOID
Groups formed only to access a specific programme.
WHY
They dissolve when it ends.
