Risk and poverty in agriculture: expanding roles for agricultural cooperatives in Malaysia

The inter-relationship between risk, poverty and agriculture in development economics has gained increased attention. Agriculture in which the poor predominantly operate is a fragile and risk-prone sector. The risks range from the large (aggregate) ones to the small (idisyncratic).Aggregate risks...

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Main Authors: Okezie Chukwukere A, Amir Hussin Baharuddin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, UKM,Bangi 2012
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/5498/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/5498/1/1.geografia-jul%25202012-okeyzi-usm-english-2%2520-edited-29.7.12-1.pdf
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author Okezie Chukwukere A,
Amir Hussin Baharuddin,
author_facet Okezie Chukwukere A,
Amir Hussin Baharuddin,
author_sort Okezie Chukwukere A,
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The inter-relationship between risk, poverty and agriculture in development economics has gained increased attention. Agriculture in which the poor predominantly operate is a fragile and risk-prone sector. The risks range from the large (aggregate) ones to the small (idisyncratic).Aggregate risks such as droughts,cyclones,floods, and market fluctuations tend to affect the whole community simultaneously, while idisyncratic risks affect a particular household or individual such as with respect to illness, death, and disability. The contribution of Agricultural cooperatives as instruments of development has been widely acknowledged. This study highlights the role of agricultural cooperatives in tackling both risks and poverty in the Malaysian agriculture sector. It was found that with 5.685 million members, share capital amounting to RM 6.849 billion and total assets worth RM 34.868 billion the Malaysian agricultural cooperatives were well placed to manage poverty related risks afflicting local paddy farmers, fishermen and smallholders through their diverse functions in credit/finance, plantation, housing, consumer, transport and services. Nevertheless, in conclusion, to better harness their strength these cooperatives must be less dependent on government funding to gain better freedom from undue interferences.
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spelling oai:generic.eprints.org:54982016-12-14T06:38:37Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/5498/ Risk and poverty in agriculture: expanding roles for agricultural cooperatives in Malaysia Okezie Chukwukere A, Amir Hussin Baharuddin, The inter-relationship between risk, poverty and agriculture in development economics has gained increased attention. Agriculture in which the poor predominantly operate is a fragile and risk-prone sector. The risks range from the large (aggregate) ones to the small (idisyncratic).Aggregate risks such as droughts,cyclones,floods, and market fluctuations tend to affect the whole community simultaneously, while idisyncratic risks affect a particular household or individual such as with respect to illness, death, and disability. The contribution of Agricultural cooperatives as instruments of development has been widely acknowledged. This study highlights the role of agricultural cooperatives in tackling both risks and poverty in the Malaysian agriculture sector. It was found that with 5.685 million members, share capital amounting to RM 6.849 billion and total assets worth RM 34.868 billion the Malaysian agricultural cooperatives were well placed to manage poverty related risks afflicting local paddy farmers, fishermen and smallholders through their diverse functions in credit/finance, plantation, housing, consumer, transport and services. Nevertheless, in conclusion, to better harness their strength these cooperatives must be less dependent on government funding to gain better freedom from undue interferences. Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, UKM,Bangi 2012-07 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/5498/1/1.geografia-jul%25202012-okeyzi-usm-english-2%2520-edited-29.7.12-1.pdf Okezie Chukwukere A, and Amir Hussin Baharuddin, (2012) Risk and poverty in agriculture: expanding roles for agricultural cooperatives in Malaysia. Geografia : Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 8 (4). pp. 1-11. ISSN 2180-2491 http://www.ukm.my/geografia/v2/index.php?
spellingShingle Okezie Chukwukere A,
Amir Hussin Baharuddin,
Risk and poverty in agriculture: expanding roles for agricultural cooperatives in Malaysia
title Risk and poverty in agriculture: expanding roles for agricultural cooperatives in Malaysia
title_full Risk and poverty in agriculture: expanding roles for agricultural cooperatives in Malaysia
title_fullStr Risk and poverty in agriculture: expanding roles for agricultural cooperatives in Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Risk and poverty in agriculture: expanding roles for agricultural cooperatives in Malaysia
title_short Risk and poverty in agriculture: expanding roles for agricultural cooperatives in Malaysia
title_sort risk and poverty in agriculture: expanding roles for agricultural cooperatives in malaysia
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/5498/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/5498/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/5498/1/1.geografia-jul%25202012-okeyzi-usm-english-2%2520-edited-29.7.12-1.pdf