Medlemmens nytta av vidareförädling i ett lantbrukskooperativt företag

Lantbrukskooperationen i Europa har, under senare år, gått allt mer mot långtgående förädling, ökad vertikal integration, ökad helhetssyn på produktions-, förädlings- och distributionssystem samt allt mer internationell marknadsföring och produktion. När konkurrensen inom förädlingsindustrin ökar, blir det svårare för de kooperativa företagen att säkra låga transaktionskostnader för medlemmarna genom att endast arbeta för låga kostnader vad gäller insamling, låg grad av förädling och marknadsföring av medlemmarnas råvaror. Det blir istället viktigare för företagen att satsa på vidareförädling av dess råvaror. Lyckeby Stärkelsens verksamhet – vidareförädling av medlemmarnas stärkelsepotatis till nativ och modifierad stärkelse, främst till livsmedels-, pappers- och kemiindustrin – har under många år genomsyrats av en strategi som innebär högförädling och stora satsningar på FoU. Vidareförädling i ett lantbrukskooperativt företag kan ifrågasättas av medlemmen, då han eller hon kan ha svårighet att bedöma värdet av förädlingen, och därmed finns risk att goda investeringsmöjligheter inte blir utnyttjade. Syftet med detta arbete är att uppskatta den nytta, som medlemmen inom Lyckeby Stärkelsen har av att föreningen satsar på vidareförädling av dennes råvaror. De centrala delarna i denna studie är föreningens ekonomiska nytta för medlemmen, problem med vagt definierade äganderätter samt nytta förknippad med sociala och ideologiska faktorer, som i detta arbete benämns ”icke-ekonomiska faktorer”. Dessa delar analyseras med hjälp av ett antal teorier, som främst är transaktionskostnadsteori, agent- och äganderättsteori samt institutionell teori. Resultatet av studien visar att en stor del av Lyckeby Stärkelsens försäljning har sitt ursprung i de vidareförädlande bolagen, vilket betyder att de har väsentlig betydelse för medlemmens nytta av föreningen. De omsättningsbara leveransrätternas relativt höga marknadsvärde i slutändan leder till att endast de mest effektiva odlarna med den högsta råvarukvaliteten blir kvar i föreningen, vilket bidrar till en positiv utveckling av det kooperativa företaget. Enkätundersökningen resulterade i att Lyckeby Stärkelsens organisationsmodell, med en sluten medlemskrets och omsättningsbara andelar, gör att annars vanligt förekommande problem i lantbrukskooperativa företag minskar. Det framkom också att medlemmarna i Lyckeby Stärkelsen sätter ett stort värde på den sociala gemenskap och det kontaktnät som föreningen ger upphov till. Detta kan vara en bidragande orsak till stort engagemang i föreningen och en ökad effektivitet i medlemmens potatisodling.The agricultural cooperatives in Europe have during the last years become increasingly involved in far-reaching value-added processing, increased vertical integration and a holistic view on production, value-added, and distribution systems as well as increased international marketing and production. When competition within the value-added processing industry increases, it becomes more difficult for the agricultural cooperatives to assure low transaction costs for the members only by working for low costs regarding the collection of the members’ produce and marketing of partly processed products. Instead it becomes more important to emphases highly value-added processing of the members’ produce. The Swedish starch potato cooperative, Lyckeby Stärkelsen, has during many years focused its strategy on this, and has now a lot of experience and knowledge in value-added processing and R&D within the area of native and modified potato starch to the food industry as well as the paper industry. This strategy may be questioned by the members of the cooperative, since he or she can find it hard to assess the benefits that the value-added processing may generate, since it is not directly connected to the member’s business. The purpose of this thesis is to estimate the member’s benefits of the cooperative’s value-added processing. The main parts of this thesis concerns the member’s economic benefit of the cooperative, problems with vaguely defined property rights, and the benefits associated with social and ideological factors. These factors are analyzed by applying some theories on the empirical data; transaction cost theory, agency theory, property rights theory, and institutional theory. The results of the study shows that a considerable part of Lyckeby Stärkelsen’s turn over arises from the companies within the Lyckeby group which business focus on value-added processing. This means that these companies to a great extent affect the patronage refund and other refunds paid out to the members, and therefore has a substantial meaning for the member benefits. The study also shows that the relatively high market value of the tradable delivery rights contributes to encourage the highly efficient growers to stay in the cooperative, which in the end also leads to a profitable and efficient cooperative. The results from the survey proved that the organizational model of Lyckeby Stärkelsen – with a closed member group and tradable delivery rights – contribute to decrease and/or prevent problems often common in agricultural cooperative, such as high agency costs and vaguely defined property rights. The survey also resulted in showing that the members put a great value on the social spirit and the network of contacts for which the cooperative is responsible, something that definitely can contribute to encourage great commitment to the cooperative, and increased efficiency in the member’s business

DILEMAS DA INOVAÇÃO INSTITUCIONAL E GOVERNANÇA NOS ARRANJOS PRODUTIVOS DE BIODIESEL

A tentativa de inclusão social de agricultores familiares no Programa Nacional de Produção e Uso de Biodiesel (PNPB) envolve a combinação de diversos instrumentos. Um deles é o Projeto Pólos de Produção de Biodiesel, em implantação nas regiões Norte, Nordeste e no centro-sul do país. O objetivo do Projeto é contribuir para o fortalecimento da capacidade de planejamento nos Pólos, e a metodologia empregada prevê a constituição de estruturas de governança que devem ser compostas pelo conjunto de agentes vinculados à cadeia do biodiesel. Isto abrange os agricultores e seus organismos de representação, as indústrias de biodiesel, instituições financeiras, órgãos de assistência técnica, poderes públicos, organizações não-governamentais e outras organizações de apoio à produção e à comercialização. A hipótese geral e que serve de guia à exposição tem por referência os trabalhos da sociologia da inovação e dos mercados. Pretende-se demonstrar como o Projeto em tela é resultado de uma teia complexa que envolve aspectos técnicos, aprendizagem social e elementos de caráter político e cultural. Seus resultados em termos de eficiência são uma função dos contornos da estrutura de governança, materializada no escopo de agentes envolvidos, nos mecanismos de incentivo e nas regras de interação ali existentes. As principais conclusões do artigo evidenciam que os arranjos produtivos têm conseguido garantir uma oferta estável de matéria prima e assim contribuído para a formação de um novo mercado. Mas mostra também a dificuldade em introduzir critérios de eficiência ambiental e os impasses que ainda persistem no que se refere à eficiência social desta iniciativa.--------------------------------------------------The attempt to promote social inclusion of family farmers through the National Plan for the Production and Use of Biodiesel (PNPB) involves a combination of several tools. One of them is the Biodiesel Poles of Production Project, currently being phased in in the North, Northeast and Center-South regions of Brazil. The project aims to contribute to the strengthening of the planning capacity at the poles of production, while the methodology adopted is based on the constitution of governance structures, which are to encompass the set of agents linked to the biodiesel supply chain. It involves the family farmers and their representative organisms, the biodiesel industries, financing institutions, technical assistance agencies, the public power at different levels, and other organizations devoted to supporting production and commercialization. The general hypothesis builds primarily on the studies developed by the sociology of innovation and of markets. We intend to demonstrate how the project analyzed is the result of a complex web involving technical aspects, social learning, and elements of a political and cultural nature. With regard to efficiency, its results are dependent upon the boundaries of the governance structure, materialized on the basis of the scope of the agents involved, the incentive mechanisms, and the rules of interaction therein. The main conclusions of the article put in evidence that these productive arrangements have managed to assure a stable supply of raw materials, thus contributing to the formation of a new market. Yet the conclusions also reveal the difficulty in introducing criteria of environmental efficiency and the existing stalemates that persist in relation to the social efficiency of this initiative.agricultura familiar, biodiesel, governança, instituições, Family farming, biodiesel, institutions, governance, Farm Management,

Incidencia de la variación de los precios financieros y de eficiencia de los fertilizantes químicos en la estructura de costos de producción y en la rentabilidad de los cultivos de arroz, maíz duro, quinua, banano y caña de azúcar. Periodo 2013-2016.

La presente investigación estudia el encadenamiento productivo hacia atrás en el primer eslabón de la cadena productiva de los cultivos de arroz, maíz duro, quinua, banano y caña de azúcar, es decir, entre los proveedores de insumos agrícolas (fertilizantes químicos) y los productores. Para analizar el efecto de las variaciones de precios de estos insumos (urea, MOP y DAP) en los costos de producción y en la rentabilidad se plantean dos escenarios. En el primero se considera los precios financieros o de mercado en el nivel finca del fertilizante y los precios del producto agrícola primario; en el segundo se considera que estos precios varían. Se concluye que la rentabilidad de una hectárea de cada cultivo es menos sensible a cambios en el precio de los fertilizantes en comparación con cambios en el precio del producto agrícola primario puesto que estos insumos agrícolas representan solo una parte del costo total de producción. Además, se calculan los precios de eficiencia del fertilizante en finca para contrastarlo con el precio financiero en el año 2015. A partir de la estructura de costos de internación de un bien importable se obtuvo la Razón Precio Cuenta (RPC) de la urea y del DAP que para el año 2015 se estimó en 0,71. Este resultado indica que solo un 71% del precio financiero representa el precio de eficiencia, en otras palabras, los agricultores pagan un precio más alto por el fertilizante del que debería ser en caso de no existir distorsiones en la economía. Lo anterior implica que las políticas sectoriales agrícolas deben enfocarse en mejorar la comercialización de los fertilizantes entre los importadores, distribuidores, intermediarios y productores agrícolas

Demutualization and Its Problems

During the last decades, the world economy has undergone far-reaching changes which have shaped the current framework of international capitalism. Gerald Epstein summarized those developments in three words: neoliberalism, globalization, and financialization.1 These processes have deeply affected not only the strategies but also the governance of firms. All forms of enterprise facing these new challenges have, in some way, changed their organizational structures as well as their business strategies. Financial strategies, in particular, have been transformed by the new global market for currencies and new forms of financial instruments. Cooperatives have been no exception to this rule. They have experienced a substantial wave of innovations, and as a result, new forms of cooperative enterprises have emerged. In the United States and Canada, these new forms are commonly referred to as new generation cooperatives (NGCs); in Italy and Spain, they are called cooperative groups or networks of cooperatives. One of the main features of these new organizational structures is the attempt to take some of the advantages of the investor-oriented firm (above all, in capital-raising activities) while retaining the mutual/cooperative status. As Chaddad and Cook will make clear in Chapter 7, the new organizations can be considered hybrid institutions like the publicly listed cooperative (Nilsson, 2001; Chaddad and Cook, 2004; Bekkum, O. F. van, and J. Bijman, 2006). There is no doubt that these innovations in structures and organizational models have been the salient feature of co-ops at the turn of the twenty-first century. Many of the changes have been undertaken to facilitate the growth of the enterprises both in the domestic market and abroad. As historians, we are not in a position to say whether what is now emerging will be the dominant cooperation form of the twenty-first century, but certainly we are justified in naming the last three decades the age of hybridization. At the end of this transformation, an entirely new paradigm with a new set of values and reference models could well emerge. In some cases, the search for new structures has gone so far as to assume the aspect of conversion of mutuals into stock firms. This chapter will deal with that aspect later when we focus on cooperatives that have opted for conversion or demutualization instead of hybridization

The impact of cooperatives' risk aversion and equity capital constraints on their inter-firm consolidation and collaboration strategies-with an empirical study of the European dairy industry

This article concludes that cooperative firms' choice of interfirm consolidation and collaboration strategies can be explained by two attributes, inherent in the cooperative business form, namely, risk aversion and equity capital constraints. Empirical data originate from the 15 largest EU dairy firms during a 5-year period (1998-2002). In total 198 activities are identified. They are classified into six categories: (a) mergers, (b) acquisitions, (c) strategic share holdings, (d) joint ventures, (e) licensing, and (f) general collaboration agreements. It is shown that cooperative firms prefer mergers, collaboration agreements, joint ventures, and licensing. All of these are relatively low in terms of both performance risks and relational risks, and they demand limited amounts of equity capital. Investor-owned firms focus on take-over strategies-acquisitions and share holdings. Other indicators of risk aversion are that cooperatives tend to collaborate with other cooperatives and that they prefer partners in their own home market. [EconLit: Q130; P130; L200.] © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 23: 453-472, 2007.