OVERCOMING CONSTRAINTS TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF COLLABORATIVE MARKETING GROUPS FOR COFFEE GROWERS IN THE HIGHLANDS OF PNG

In PNG, colonial governments promoted both cooperatives and Rural Progress Societies with many established in pre- and post-colonial times.
Most failed due to abuse of process, mismanagement and mistrust although there is evidence that cooperatives can survive with close monitoring of management.
Despite these failures governments, aid agencies and NGOs still promote them to link semi-subsistence farmers to profitable markets.
While cooperatives may be desirable for linking semi-subsistence farmers to profitable markets, given their previous history in PNG, new systems need to found to ensure their sustainability.
This paper reviews literature on collaborative groups and uses case-study evidence from two existing collaborative structures in the coffee industry that address some of the reasons for failure.
The structures include an alliance between the cooperative and a commercial company.
Political theory is also hypothesised to provide some theoretical insights for structuring cooperatives in some transitional economies.

XVI International Symposium on Horticultural Economics and Management

R. Murray-Prior, R. Sengere, P.J. Batt

cooperatives, grower owned marketing, case study, alliances, social capital, trust, comparative advantage, institutional structure

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2009.831.32