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Agriculture vocabulary · Trade, Markets and Subsidies

Cooperative

Meaning in agriculture, with examples

/koʊˈɑːpərətɪv/nounCommon term

In agriculture, cooperative means: An organization owned and run by its farmer members, who join together to buy inputs, process or sell produce, or share equipment and services.

In Turkish: kooperatif, tarımsal kooperatif

How it is used

Farmers join, set up or sell through a cooperative, often shortened to 'co-op'. There are marketing, supply, credit and irrigation cooperatives. Cooperatives give small farmers more bargaining power with buyers.

Example sentences

  1. The olive growers formed a cooperative to bottle and export their own oil.

  2. Our cooperative buys fertilizer in bulk and sells it to members at cost.

Common collocations

  • agricultural cooperative
  • join a cooperative
  • marketing cooperative
  • cooperative member
  • irrigation cooperative
  • smallholderA farmer who works a small area of land, often a few hectares or less, mainly with family labor and limited capital.
  • subsidyMoney or other support paid by the government to farmers to keep production profitable, lower costs or encourage certain practices.
  • farm-gate priceThe price a farmer receives for a product when it leaves the farm, before transport, processing, wholesale and retail costs are added.
  • commodityA basic product such as wheat, maize, soybeans, sugar or cotton that is bought and sold in large amounts and where one producer's goods are much like another's.
  • siloA tall tower, bin or pit used to store grain in bulk, or to store chopped green crops as silage.

More terms: Trade, Markets and Subsidies

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