Assessment of Cooperatives in the Poultry Industry - 2013.pdf - Seda

Research Report: Addressing the Needs, Opportunities and Challenges of Cooperatives
and Collectively Owned Enterprises in the Poultry and Related Industries
Figure 4-20: Terminated cooperatives- reasons for closing
25%
8%
25%
58%
75%
Equipment
Finance
Skills
Membership problems
Customers
Source: Urban-Econ Survey, 2013
A feature which is noticeable in these results but did not feature very significantly in the results for
operational cooperatives is ‘membership problems’. This category includes failure of the cooperative
as a result of uncommitted members but also a lack of management. This is a concern noted in the
‘other challenges’ section above and has been highlighted as a concern by a number of prominent
organisations.
The table below illustrates the percentage of non-operational cooperatives that cited each reason
for failure as an important factor in the failure of their business.
Lack of equipment and finance are also problems which recurred in the survey results and are thus
unsurprising to find occurring here. A lack of skills is a highlighted here far more prominently than
was seen above. The table below illustrates that 58% of failed cooperatives cited a lack of skills as a
key feature in the failure of their business.
Table 4-8: Terminated Cooperatives: Reasons for Failure
Reason for failure
Percentage of cooperatives who reported this
Equipment 25%
Finance 75%
Skills 58%
Membership problems 25%
Customers 8%
Source: Urban-Econ Survey, 2013
A lack of skills is mentioned as a factor for 25% of failed cooperatives. This includes cooperatives that
lost livestock due to insufficient health regulations and a lack of safety on the farm. Environmental,
health and safety standards are not highlighted significantly by successful cooperatives. However,
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