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Farm Cooperatives and Sustainability
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Farm Cooperatives and Sustainability

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 11797

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Hung-Hao Chang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural Economics, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Interests: agricultural and public policy evaluation; farm household economics; food consumption
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There is increasing research interest in farm cooperatives. Recent studies have documented the importance of farm cooperatives in rural development and farm household wellbeing. However, not much attention has been given to the relationship among farm cooperatives, farm economics, environmental economics, and sustainability. This call for papers aims to fill this knowledge gap. Both theoretical and empirical papers are welcome as long as they fit into the theme of this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Hung-Hao Chang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • farm cooperatives
  • sustainability
  • farm economics
  • environment

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 894 KiB  
Article
Investigating the Association between Farmers’ Organizational Participation and Types of Agricultural Product Certifications: Empirical Evidence from a National Farm Households Survey in Taiwan
by Mei-Yin Kuan, Szu-Yung Wang and Jiun-Hao Wang
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9429; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169429 - 22 Aug 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2175
Abstract
Agricultural product certifications have proliferated due to the growing concerns in many countries over food safety and environmental sustainability. Encouraging farmers to self-organize was regarded as a useful tool to enhance the adoption of agricultural product certifications in Taiwan. However, previous studies solely [...] Read more.
Agricultural product certifications have proliferated due to the growing concerns in many countries over food safety and environmental sustainability. Encouraging farmers to self-organize was regarded as a useful tool to enhance the adoption of agricultural product certifications in Taiwan. However, previous studies solely focused on the association between membership in a production organization and single food certifications. Moreover, little is known of how different types of organizational participation could improve the adoption of agricultural product certifications. This study seeks to fill this knowledge gap by employing multinomial logistic regression model (MNL) to investigate factors affecting farmers’ decisions to participate in agricultural product certification. Special attention is paid to the role of different types of organizational participation in farmers’ choices for agricultural product certification. The study used a nationally representative sample of core farmers in Taiwan, and its results revealed evident differences in farmers’ organization types. For example, the farm operators who participate in agricultural cooperatives (co-ops) tend to use organic labels. In contrast, farm operators who participate in agricultural production and marketing groups (APMGs) tend to adopt the Traceable Agricultural Products (TAP) label. Moreover, age, education level, farming experience, farm labor, farm type, agricultural facilities, and regional location have a significant effect on farmers’ choices for participating in agricultural product certification across different models. The findings suggest that policymakers should consider these differences in the organizational operation of APMGs and co-ops and provide customized measures by promoting different types of agricultural product certifications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Farm Cooperatives and Sustainability)
21 pages, 343 KiB  
Article
Emerging Beef Producer Organisations (POs) in the Irish Beef Sector: An Analysis of Media Coverage in the Context of Nationwide Beef Producer Protests
by Martin Javornicky, Áine Macken-Walsh and Anita Naughton
Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1489; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031489 - 01 Feb 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2199
Abstract
International literature acknowledges benefits of the legally recognised Producer Organisations (POs). Successful leveraging of these benefits depends on two forms of cooperation: horizontal integration among the producers for more effective functioning of the POs; and vertical integration of POs with other actors in [...] Read more.
International literature acknowledges benefits of the legally recognised Producer Organisations (POs). Successful leveraging of these benefits depends on two forms of cooperation: horizontal integration among the producers for more effective functioning of the POs; and vertical integration of POs with other actors in the production chain to facilitate processes of co-creation and interactive innovation. In 2016 PO legislation was first introduced in Ireland, and in 2019 Ireland’s first two beef POs emerged at a time when primary producers in the beef sector mobilised en masse, protesting against poor prices and seeking changes in supply chain relationships. Throughout this period, significant and detailed media reporting of the beef sector surrounded the protests, which takes the focus of our analysis. Building on an existing but limited literature on institutional conditions in the Irish beef industry and international accounts of factors influencing the success of POs, we analyse media coverage in order to shed light on the nature of emerging new forms of horizontal and vertical cooperation. In this regard, we focus on horizontal integration of producers into PO and associations of POs (APOs); and vertical integration of POs into Inter Branch Organisations (IBOs) and value-based supply chains (VBSCs). Our analysis shows that the media representations of the Irish beef sector evidence significant challenges to the establishment and successful operation of POs, in any form. The analysis suggests that current constellation of relations in the Irish beef sector represents an environment that is partially resistant to horizontal co-operation and significantly hostile to vertical co-operation. Interactive innovation involving different chain actors seems not to be imminent, at least in the short term, unless there are strategic public and/or private interventions introduced to support it. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Farm Cooperatives and Sustainability)
17 pages, 1966 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Production Policy Impact on Palm Oil Firms’ Performance: Empirical Analysis from Indonesia
by Noxolo Kunene and Yessica C.Y. Chung
Sustainability 2020, 12(20), 8750; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208750 - 21 Oct 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2630
Abstract
Sustainable production is a key element of sustainable development. The concept was first introduced in the United Nations Rio Earth Summit in 1992 and has become an important item on the management of industries. In conjunction, the government of Indonesia introduced the Indonesian [...] Read more.
Sustainable production is a key element of sustainable development. The concept was first introduced in the United Nations Rio Earth Summit in 1992 and has become an important item on the management of industries. In conjunction, the government of Indonesia introduced the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) policy in 2011 to adhere to international sustainability standards of Sustainable Palm Oil and of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). This study investigates the impact of ISPO policy on palm oil firms’ performance. Using a sample of 409 palm oil firms of the Indonesian palm oil sector for the years 2010 and 2015, we employed a regression discontinuity (RD) with a difference-in-differences approach to explore the effect of the policy on firms’ performance. The RD results show that the introduction of the policy significantly reduced large firms’ profit by IDR 75m (equivalent to USD 5250); the negative effect of the policy increased with firm size. Furthermore, there was a significant reduction in performance for firms that promptly purchased land before the policy’s ban on land expansion. These findings suggest that a punitive sustainable production policy does not sustain the palm oil sector. Nevertheless, large companies that complied with international sustainability measures ahead of the introduction of the domestic policy benefited. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Farm Cooperatives and Sustainability)
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16 pages, 1282 KiB  
Article
Market Efficiency under the Arrangement of Transaction Rules of the RCCL Market from the Supply-Side Perspective
by Meie Deng and Anlu Zhang
Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7660; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187660 - 16 Sep 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1655
Abstract
This paper analyzes market efficiency under the formal transaction rules of the rural collective construction land (RCCL) market in Nanhai District. These transaction rules are not perfect, market uncertainty is strong, and transaction costs remain high. Transaction rules are an important means by [...] Read more.
This paper analyzes market efficiency under the formal transaction rules of the rural collective construction land (RCCL) market in Nanhai District. These transaction rules are not perfect, market uncertainty is strong, and transaction costs remain high. Transaction rules are an important means by which the government can intervene in the market, protect farmers’ land-use and income rights, and make the market more open, equitable, and just. Using a field survey (260 questionnaires) in Nanhai District, Guangdong Province, China, we estimated the impact of the openness, equity, and justice of transaction rules on the transaction costs of the RCCL market. Tobit models were constructed, and the results showed the following: (1) The overall level of market efficiency of the RCCL in Nanhai District is low. In different regions, the highest market efficiency is in Guicheng Street and the lowest is in Xiqiao Town. However, after excluding the influence of environmental and random factors, the overall level of market efficiency decreased, while the market efficiency of Lishui and Xiqiao Town increased. (2) The influencing factors of RCCL market efficiency under the arrangement of transaction rules are mainly related to the disclosure of information in the openness dimension, income distribution and supervision in the fairness dimension, and land-price formation in the fairness dimension. Therefore, we suggest that the lower the transaction cost of an RCCL market, the more active the market will be. It is very important to improve the transaction rules of the RCCL market, reduce the transaction cost, and improve the market efficiency. The transaction rules of the RCCL market should be further improved in the three dimensions of openness, equity, and justice. Our work provides insight into the improvement of market efficiency, which contributes to the development of the RCCL markets in other areas of China and worldwide. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Farm Cooperatives and Sustainability)
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11 pages, 1932 KiB  
Article
Biennial Mowing Maintains the Biomass and Functional Diversity of Semi-Arid Grassland
by Tianqi Zhao, Feng Zhang, Rongzhen Suo, Chen Gu, Daling Chen, Tony Yang and Mengli Zhao
Sustainability 2020, 12(4), 1507; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041507 - 18 Feb 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2376
Abstract
Understanding the functional diversity relationship between biomass and plants is a key issue in biodiversity–ecosystem functionality and the utility of grassland. We conducted a five-year mowing experiment to examine the effects of the mowing frequency on biomass, plant species, and functional diversity of [...] Read more.
Understanding the functional diversity relationship between biomass and plants is a key issue in biodiversity–ecosystem functionality and the utility of grassland. We conducted a five-year mowing experiment to examine the effects of the mowing frequency on biomass, plant species, and functional diversity of a natural plant community in a semiarid region of Inner Mongolia. A secondary objective was to test whether unmowed refuge areas within plots would mitigate the disturbance effect of mowing. The result showed that mowing disturbance reduced biomass by the greatest amount with mowing once every year (M1) and the least with M2. The biomass composition of M2 consisted of a greater mass of perennial species than in the other mowing treatments but was equivalent to the control (CK). However, mowing disturbances increased the plant species richness and M2 had the largest number of species. The community-weighted means (CWM) indices indicated that M2 produced the least detrimental effects on the grassland. Retaining unmowed refuge areas appeared to be ineffective in promoting beneficial community traits under M1 mowing regimes. Based on our results, we recommend that the semi-arid grassland be mowed every other year in order to optimize sustainable production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Farm Cooperatives and Sustainability)
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