Agricultural Cooperatives

Abstract

SynonymsAgrarian social movement organizations; Farmorganizations; Farmer cooperatives; Farmer empowermentstrategies; Peasant organizationsIntroductionCooperatives areformal social movements utilized around the globe often inreaction to various social-economic injustices and/or marketfailures. Their formation in the USA has been influenced by alegacy inherited from farmers and agricultural cooperativesdeveloped first in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Ireland, andIceland and from labor and consumer cooperatives in the UK,France, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Italy. Historicallydisadvantaged farmers and/or workers have spearheaded theirdevelopment both in Europe and the USA. They have also been usedin a formal development context throughout the developing world,often driven with a similar impetus to address social justiceissues, though with mixed results. This entry focuses onagricultural cooperatives in the USA only, though the tensionsspecified here highlight the kinds o ...