Agricultural Cooperatives as a Vehicle for Small-Scale Farmer’s Viability and Sustainable Practices

Abstract

Nowadays, the agricultural sector is poised to undergo significant transformations towards sustainability. Small-scale farmers’ restricted accessibility to resources hinders their ability to effectively adapt to such advancements. This research paper investigates the potential role of agricultural cooperatives as deus ex machina, offering an idea for solving the challenges faced by small-scale farmers. Additionally, it examines the potential benefits agricultural cooperatives could provide to large-scale farmers while simultaneously advocating sustainable agricultural practices. To gather accurate data, individuals who were members of cooperatives in the Larissa region of Greece were interviewed using questionnaires. The sixty qualitative interviews conducted shed light on the fact that cooperatives play a significant role in promoting sustainable agriculture and offer numerous benefits to their members, particularly small-scale farmers.

Keywords

• agricultural cooperatives
• sustainability
• small-scale farmers