Unique features of agricultural cooperatives in sub-Saharan Africa

In this study, we draw on the literature, field visits and new primary data and their analysis, to put forth the suggestion that missing managerial capital – or a general lack of income and employment generating capacity - is the distinguishing feature of agricultural cooperatives in sub-Saharan Africa. We attribute this shortcoming to a context specific challenge associated with farmland fragmentation. We emphasize that although European and North American cooperatives have evolved in a radically different context - characterized by farmland consolidation - the governance structure of sub-Saharan cooperatives remains largely based on off-the-shelf models imported from the EU and US. We then identify and discuss alternative models specifically intended to build-up managerial capital through the development of farmland consolidation schemes, such as Land Shareholding Cooperatives (LSCs). To promote the rise and consolidation of land shareholding cooperatives across rural Africa, we propose a strategy that combines research-driven education and training with cooperative governance decentralization and farmland devolution.