Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Economics of Agricultural Cooperatives

The Project “Making Rural Services Work for the Poor – The Role of Rural Institutions and their Governance for Agriculture-Led Development“ is jointly coordinated by the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington D.C, USA, and Humboldt University Berlin, Germany. The overall objective of the project is to improve the livelihoods of poor households in rural areas by improving the provision of services that are essential for agricultural and rural development. The purpose of the project is to provide policy-relevant knowledge on strategies or interventions that empower the rural poor – men and women - to participate in local governance, demand the services they need, and hold service providers accountable. Research activities cover the economic and social services that allow the rural poor to make use of agricultural innovations, become integrated into markets, benefit from the rural transformation and improve their well-being. The countries under investigation are India, Guatemala, Uganda and Kyrgyzstan where collaborating institutions are involved in the research process. Analysis focuses on the role that governance reforms such as decentralization, local elections and leadership, collective action and social learning can play in improving quality and access of the poor to rural services, taking the political dimension of these reforms into account. The project pays special attention to the role of collective action among farmers in form of associations, producer organizations, cooperatives and self-help groups. The expected results include analytical tools and empirical evidence on strategies to improve local governance and service provision for sustainable agricultural and rural development. Gender-disaggregated governance indicators which measure the performance of rural service provision are part of the methodology. Capacity building among participating institutions is achieved through training and collaborative research.