Promoting rural cooperatives in developing countries: the case of sub-Saharan Africa

Examines the reasons behind succesful and unsuccessful experiences with rural coops and reevaluates the potential for remedying the major problems plaguing sub-Saharan agriculture. A seminar on donor experiences with rural cooperatives was organized at the World Bank in January 1990. Representatives from bilateral and multilateral donor organizations, NGOs, and African cooperative organizations exchanged and evaluated experiences with donor support for rural cooperatives in developing countries. This paper is mainly a synthesis of seminar papers and discussions. This paper briefly describes the motivation for and effectiveness of rural coops in developed countries through the example of the Dutch. It then focuses on the development of rural cooperatives in sub-Saharan Africa and on the main issues and problems, including internal and external constraints. After considering the future of such cooperatives and making policy recommendations, the paper summarizes conclusions. -from Authors