The role of agricultural co-ops in driving change supporting the climate challenge

该项目的重点是研究农业合作社（成员所有组织）在推动其网络变革方面的作用，重点是帮助其农民成员应对气候挑战。教育和有效的知识转移是合作企业的重要支柱，也是七项合作原则之一。SAOS认为，应对气候紧急情况是一项巨大的挑战，任何一家企业都无法单独应对，尤其是中小企业。苏格兰强大的农业合作社可以成为协调有意义变革的有效解决方案，同时通过高效的合作社农民成员网络保持竞争力。合作社模式提供了巨大的机会，可以帮助农民解决时间和资金有限、技术变革和信息不对称等障碍。随着行业通过“轻松获胜”和低成本解决方案的发展，实现经济和环境效益的行动变得越来越困难。这凸显了农民之间加强合作方式的价值，例如支持采用和开发新技术或承诺进行更多资本密集型投资。可以说，合作社提供的关键角色之一是促进和实现变革的领导力。例如，阿伯丁谷物投资于大型生物质干燥机，以脱碳干燥麦芽谷物。话虽如此，在苏格兰或整个英国，人们对合作社的商业模式并不了解，尽管这种商业模式有着悠久的历史，建立在相互支持、民主和共享经济利益的原则之上。除了从成为合作社成员中获得商业回报外，合作社还寻求建立社会资本，提高技能，这对建设韧性和加强农村社区至关重要，同时保持竞争力。

The focus of this project is researching the role agricultural co-ops (member-owned organizations) play in driving change in their networks with a focus on helping their farmer members address the climate challenge. Education and effective knowledge transfer are a key pillar and one of the seven principles of co-operation in co-op enterprises. SAOS believe addressing the climate emergency is too large a challenge for any one business to tackle alone, especially SMEs. And that Scotland's strong agricultural co-ops can be an effective solution to coordinating meaningful change whilst remaining competitive via highly effective co-op farmer member networks. The co-op model presents a huge opportunity to support farmers address barriers such as limited time and capital, technical change, and information asymmetries. Action to deliver both economic and environmental gains become progressively more difficult as the industry advances through 'easy wins' and lower cost solutions. This highlights the value of a more collaborative approach between farmers, to support for example, the adoption and development of new technology or commitment to more capital-intensive investments. Arguably one of the key roles co-ops provide is the leadership to facilitate and actualize change. For example, the investment by Aberdeen Grain in large-scale biomass driers to decarbon the drying of malting barley grain. That said, the co-op business model is not well understood in Scotland or the wider UK, despite their long history as a business model, founded in the principles of mutual support, democracy and shared economic benefits. Apart from the commercial returns from being a member, co-ops seek to build social capital and enhance skills that can be vital in building resilience and strengthening rural communities, whilst remaining competitive.