A community intervention model for developing associative structures in agriculture

This handbook describes the 7 steps for setting up a cooperative. They stretch over 3 years, in this order: analysis of local resources, contacting the relevant actors, training and workshops, setting up the agricultural cooperative, support with management and marketing, maturing the initiative, and stabilising management processes. Developing the associative farming sector means following these steps, and the early stages of analysis and of managing the initiative group matter most.

The handbook reflects the experience of experts involved in projects to set up and develop agricultural cooperatives, with public and private funding, over almost 10 years. The steps were first tested in 2012–2013, then revised and improved in 2021 on the basis of the results obtained in between.

Material developed in 2021.