Impact of Agriculture Cooperatives on Entrepreneurship and Incomes in Rural Areas: Implications for Food Security in Developing Countries

Abstract

This paper assesses the role of producer cooperatives in advancing entrepreneurship for income and food security in rural areas of developing countries. It assesses the cooperatives’ members’ self-efficacy, entrepreneurship skills and attitudes and tests them through their own evaluation of their cooperatives’ viability. The paper also highlights the challenges, local solutions and sources of resilience in cooperatives in developing countries. The study used a survey and collected both primary and secondary data which was analyzed using SPSS 23 computer package and content analysis on qualitative data. The results reveal high self-efficacy scores for cooperative members and high motivation for economic profit and market development. Cooperatives have not incorporated use of ICT in their business. They achieve higher incomes than national average incomes per head but they have limited capacity to resolve the challenges they face with their collective local wisdom. Cooperatives should reject a development model that damages and even destroys the environment and reject practices that boost short-term economic growth at the cost of the environment. There is need for innovation, greater coordination, openning up and sharing to accompany economic, social, cultural and political progress in a way that respects, protects and adapts to nature through resource conservation, restoration and protection.

Keywords: Cooperatives, Entrepreneurship, Food Security, Rural Areas.