Description

Agricultural societies are usually voluntary associations of professionals who are interested in and committed to agricultural progress and development. Due to this commitment, agricultural societies are able to quickly call upon a broad range of agricultural expertise that can then be disseminated through special information activities (e. g. exhibitions, congresses, tests of agricultural inputs or machinery). The areas of work are therefore far broader than in other farmer organisations, usually covering the entire value chain, including its up- and downstream businesses. This also includes research work, good agricultural practices, dialogue between policy-makers and society in general, marketing, product assessments, etc.

Requirements

• Legal frameworks (laws on cooperatives, taxation, competition and voluntary associations) that support farmers’ self-help organisations and do not discriminate against other entrepreneurial joint ventures (level playing field)
• Private sector initiative
• Skilled / specialised personnel to man the respective institutions / provide the respective services