EP pilot project: Support for Farmers’ Cooperatives

In order to foster the competitiveness of the food supply chain, the European Commission is committed to promote and facilitate the restructuring and consolidation of the agricultural sector by encouraging the creation of voluntary agricultural producer organisations. To support the policy making process DG Agriculture and Rural Development has launched a large study, “Support for Farmers’ Cooperatives (SFC)”, that provides insights on successful cooperatives and producer organisations as well as on effective support measures for these organisations. These insights can be used by farmers themselves, in setting up and strengthening their collective organisation, and by the European Commission in its effort to encourage the creation of agricultural producer organisations in the EU.

This final report presents the main findings of the SFC project. It should be considered as a summary of the 77 reports that have been written within the framework of this project: 27 country reports, 8 sector reports, 6 EU-wide synthesis reports, 34 case studies, a report on a cluster analysis, and a study on the development of agricultural cooperatives in other OECD countries.