Co-operatives are jointly owned and democratically controlled organizations, designed to meet the socio-economic needs of their members. Originated in the mid 19th century, co-operatives were set up to improve the living conditions of their members, contributing to the development of the welfare...

The imbalances in bargaining power between the contracting parties in the food supply chain have drawn much attention, also from policy makers. The European Commission is committed to facilitate the restructuring of the sector by encouraging the creation of voluntary agricultural producer...

This report has been written in the framework of the EU-funded research project “Support for Farmers’ Cooperatives”. This project was commissioned by the European Commission DG Agriculture and Rural Development, and carried out in 2011 and 2012 by a large consortium of researchers from...