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Item Value chain integration for rural co-operatives : comparative analysis in the rice sector in Sri Lanka : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Agribusiness at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2021) Fernando, Prageeth SanjayaAgri-food industry is transforming in developing countries due to trade liberalisation, globalisation and urbanisation trends. As a result, linking smallholder farmers to modern markets has been a concern among scholars, development agencies and policymakers. Although the transformation in agri-food industry has created many opportunities for smallholder farmers to elevate their income and welfare, they are confronted with many challenges such as poor access to technology, information, inputs, credits, and value-adding services. In this context; co-operatives are recognised to play an important role in improving smallholder farmers' market access. There is an ample amount of literature that discusses the advantages co-operatives are providing to their members/smallholder farmers. Most recent studies on co-operatives have compared members to non-members in terms of benefits and performance. Nevertheless, member benefits and performance of vertically integrated co-operatives gain less attention despite their importance. Vertically integrated co-operatives perform a range of activities related to supply of inputs, services and market information. Yet, there is scant information on how co-operatives' vertical integration benefits their members/smallholder farmers. This study aims to analyse and compare member benefits and performance of co-operatives vertically integrated into two levels: partially and fully integrated co-operatives. In particular, this study addresses whether there are better performance and members' benefits in fully integrated co-operatives than partially integrated co-operatives. This study was conducted in one of the main rice-producing provinces in Sri Lanka using a mixed-methods approach. Co-operatives involved in rice business activities in the province were studied and divided based on their level of vertical integration: partially or fully integrated. Partially integrated co-operatives centrally control some of the successive activities of a value chain (supply of inputs, provision of services and information, production, and assembling and marketing of primary products). Fully integrated co-operatives centrally control all the successive activities of a value chain (supply of inputs, provision of services and information, production, assembling and marketing of primary products, processing, wholesaling, and retailing). Cross-case comparisons of interview data complemented with financial data revealed that co-operatives' financial performance was not significantly different between partially and fully integrated co-operatives and was comparably unsatisfactory at both levels. Further, the financial performance of co-operatives was affected by their governance, managerial, technical and financial attributes. Survey data of 307 rice farmers were used to analyse and compare member-perceived benefits and performance between partially and fully integrated co-operatives. Exploratory factor analysis of data revealed five key areas of benefits: business and financial, livelihood, technology and information, low-cost inputs, and democratic control and education. It was found that business and financial, and technology and information benefits, were better among members in fully integrated co-operatives. Besides, propensity score matching analysis revealed better profits per kilogram of paddy rice and higher economic profit among members in fully integrated co-operatives. However, the regression analysis results showed varying financial performance among the members of co-operatives depending on their demographic and household, farm, and contextual factors. Findings in this study provided some important theoretical and practical implications. The benefits studied in this research provide directives for managers in formulating rice-related business strategies that are well-aligned with members' interests. Contradictions between members' perceived benefits and their actual financial performance in fully integrated co-operatives suggest a lack of awareness among members about the benefits of value-added activities and emphasise a need for improving member communication and engagement. Policymakers should be encouraged to promote vertically integrated co-operatives and provide training to their managers (including directors) on formulating and executing competitive strategies, good governance, and revisions concurrent to changing market forces.Item Examining commitment and heterogeneity within the membership base of agricultural co-operatives : an empirical study of a large New Zealand dairy co-operative : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Agribusiness at Massey University, New Zealand(Massey University, 2020) Apparao, DhananjayA strong relationship between member and co-operative is vital for agricultural co-operatives. Yet most of the research on agricultural co-operatives is centered on non-relational aspects such as efficiency. Although these conventional economic centric approaches are useful in understanding co-operatives and evaluating its performance, they are not comprehensive enough. Studies on the member - co-operative relationship which require an examination of co-operatives from a socio-psychological perspective are lacking. This research gap is addressed in this thesis via first identifying three important socio-psychological phenomena in agricultural co-operatives – 1. Commitment, 2. Heterogeneity and 3. Social Capital, and presenting a conceptual framework that links the three. Thereafter, the commitment and heterogeneity sub-components of the framework were further unravelled and empirically examined by randomly surveying 2,000 members of Fonterra Co-operative Group, of which 568 responded. The organisational commitment dimension of commitment is decoupled into three components – affective (emotive), normative (ideological) and continuance (utilitarian), and the commitment to collective action dimension into two components – patronage and governance. Fonterra had moderately high levels of affective, moderate levels of normative and slightly low levels of continuance commitment. The level of commitment to collective action was moderately high as the levels of commitment to both patronage and governance were moderately high. Importantly, there was a positive association between commitment to collective action and affective and normative commitment but not continuance commitment. This suggests that it is the emotive followed by ideological aspects of membership that influence a member’s commitment to collective action, and not the utilitarian or financial benefit aspects. Heterogeneity was measured and analysed using 35 heterogeneity sources that were categorized under three dimensions – farmer-member, farm-business and member-interest. Fonterra had high levels of heterogeneity with most of the sources in all three dimensions showing high heterogeneity. Of the three dimensions, member-interest, followed by farm-business showed the greatest heterogeneity and sources within them were most likely to result in differences in affective commitment, normative commitment, continuance commitment, commitment to collective action as well as commitment to governance and patronage. In contrast, most of the sources within the farmer-member dimension were not associated with either organisational commitment or commitment to collective action.