Panagiota Sergaki

The role of networks on the competitiveness of agricultural cooperatives and small-medium enterprises along the supply chain in Greece.

Abstract The Unions of Agricultural Cooperatives (UAC) of Greece constitute a particular category of industrial enterprises that represent the interests of an important portion of producers of agricultural products in Greece. Their role is important because together with the robust and effective small and medium size enterprises, they constitute the sole power that can oppose the monopoly power developed by the big enterprises at the level of manufacturing as well as the level of raw materials and standardised end products in the retail trade. However, their economic situation as in all smallholder participation in the global supply chain, presents several problems associated with their external competitiveness in the market and their internal efficiency. For this reason, we try to investigate how networks, which play an increasingly important role in providing access to markets for producers in developing countries, could raise the competitiveness of agricultural cooperatives, and if it is possible to become a solution for the Greek cooperatives and the producers that are behind them. In addition, this paper aims to pull together the key conditions that underpin successful collective action amongst agrifood cooperatives and small and medium enterprises.

WOMEN'S AGRICULTURAL CO-OPERATIVES IN GREECE: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW AND SWOT ANALYSIS

Very few womens co-operatives exist in Europe today; of those that do, the vast majority are involved in non-agricultural sectors. For the past thirty years in Greece, numerous womens agricultural co-operatives have been established in rural areas and scholars have articulated several aspects of their role in both womens life and the local development. A cursory glance at the history of the womens agricultural co-operatives in Greece and a review of the literature highlights the uniqueness of this type of entrepreneurship (a rarity in Europe) and their significant role for rural society cohesion, mainly in geographically and economically isolated rural areas. In this paper we employ a SWOT analysis to elaborate on strengths and weaknesses, which vary from co-operative to co-operative. Either bottom-up or top-down created womens co-operatives are currently a social innovation. Their strengths mainly concern economic independence and social inclusion of women in rural areas, while their weaknesses are mainly associated with funding, organization, administration, know how, culture, product promotion and marketing problems. Nevertheless, they are called upon to survive in a competitive environment; although difficult, it is one that provides opportunities that most likely can outweigh threats.

An Assessment Of New Farmers’ Perceptions About Agricultural Cooperatives

The Common Agricultural Policy pays particular attention to the decline of young farmers in the European Union. For this reason, plenty of different policy measures and motives for new entrants in agriculture there have been established. The main objectives of this paper are to investigate the characteristics of new farmers according to their participation in Agricultural Cooperatives and to identify what makes new farmers participate (or not) in Agricultural Cooperatives. Both research questions will advance the knowledge of policy makers and practitioners on new farmers’ expectations and perceptions and through them, to come to distinctive conclusions about the measures and the actions needed to promote agricultural cooperatives as a viable solution for new entrants in the agricultural sector. For this reason, a survey was conducted in different regions of Greece (northern, central and southern) during an educational course designed for new farmers. More specifically, a structured questionnaire was developed and distributed among 250 new farmers participating in the measure 112 ‘Setting up of young farmers’ (Common Agricultural Policy, Pillar II). The results of the survey indicate low trust in the cooperative organization, leading to low rates of active participation and commitment to agricultural cooperatives.