Agricultural Cooperatives and Unions of Cooperatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Opportunities for Improvement in Providing Services and Educational Programs for Farmers
There have been major changes in the agricultural structure in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. The remade cooperatives and the unions of cooperatives are
struggling. This paper examines the needs of the agricultural cooperatives in
order for them to be more successful, and identifies what support will likely
come from the unions of cooperatives and what support must come from
other sources. Data were obtained through: 1) questionnaires to a large
group of cooperatives, 2) focus groups with a smaller number of
cooperatives, and 3) personal interviews with union of cooperatives
representatives. The findings indicate that the unions of cooperatives are
working on issues such as registering and auditing cooperatives and
resolving land ownership conflicts. The cooperatives also need help in
business management, marketing, legal services, and organizational
effectiveness. The unions will not be able to help in these areas so
nongovernmental organizations will need to provide these educational
programming for farmers