User:Mizmind/sandbox

Articles
UBPC - Area

A UBPC, 'Unidad Básica de Producción Cooperativa' or Basic Unit of Cooperative Production in English is where I will be volunteering in La Habana. Conducting research on this topic will help me understand the differences between this agricultural cooperative and CPA's, Cooperativa de Producción Agropecuaria, or Agricultural Production Cooperative. These are the two main agricultural cooperatives in Cuba.

Agricultural Cooperatives - Sector

This research is also vital for me to conduct so that I understand the general underlying themes in not only socialist cooperatives but cooperatives throughout the world. I will look at different cultures and countries ways of addressing food security to compare and contrast with the research I find on UBPC. I will also add information about socialist agricultural cooperatives here as well. I will add information to CPA page.

Article Evaluations
UBPC

Questions regarding content, tone and sourcing:

There are two good sources at the bottom for University of Florida section about Cuba. Not developed enough to even have tone. Content is only a couple of paragraphs.

Currently a lot of history about the Soviet Union but not much about current UBPC or how Cuba innovated it and made this idea its own.

Much of the information is old, lacking modern, up to date information.

Much more can be improved, adding more detailed information about where this idea came from, from what principles, any mentor in particular, how long and how it was passed, its current lifespan, etc.

Pretty neutral. "The Cuban government hoped" that UBPC would be beneficial to the struggling economy could be considered biased? But no heavily based remarks toward Communism, just very frequent mentions/links to Communism practices.

The viewpoint of the Cuban people is missing here completely, and possibly how it went for the Russians, since they were very aligned (it seems this way via the frequent mentions to Russia and Communism).

The sources are reliable and neutral, stemming from a University of Florida website. Both websites have a long list of reliable books, some written in Spanish that were published in Cuba, others written and published in the United States.

It is a Stub article and there have been no talks about it. It is part of the WikiProject Cooperatives, and WikiProject Cuba. For the Cooperatives it has no rate/has not been rated yet, for the WikiProject Cuba it is rated "Mid". The way that Wiki talks about this article is different than how we have discussed it in class because it barely touches on the topic, there is no depth whereas in class we usually have depth.

Agricultural Cooperatives

Here, I will research not only about Cuban agriculture cooperatives, but others throughout the world and learn about the similarities and differences. There is no information written on this page, for which I can add information on. Also, there is a subcategory I can create for Ethiopia, as a lot of my scholarly sources are about Ethiopian agricultural cooperatives. Also, on the India section it does not talk about women's inclusion in agricultural cooperatives, and many of my sources talk about empowering women being a vital difference for the sustainable change.

Area - UBPC
I will add information regarding the history and different implications of UBPC program. I will provide context  to what worked in general, and add specific information about UBPC of Alamar. This contributes what I need to know for my Practice Experience because UBPC of Alamar is exactly where I will be doing my experience, hence this lets me dive deeper into the culture and history of this agricultural space.

Sector - CPA

I will add information regarding the cooperatives in Cuba, because there is a section that has no relevant information. It says to see "CPA" wikipedia page, and I will add information providing the pros and cons of CPAs, and how they are currently implemented in Cuba. I will also look at different countries and their agricultural cooperatives to gain a glimpse of how non UBPC cooperatives are run. This will allow me something to compare and contrast with what I am learning by doing the UBPC research.

Area
1.

Gardner, Bruce L., and Zvi Lerman. “Agricultural Cooperative Enterprise In The Transition From Socialist Collective Farming.” Discussion Papers, 2006. EBSCOhost, libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dedsrep%26AN%3dedsrep.p.ags.huaedp.7174%26site%3deds-live.

This scholarly source summarizes the different communist countries and how their environmental sector changed after the fall of the Soviet Union. Although it never mentions Cuba, the same principles apply there as well, because it is a communist country to this day. The key concept is describing how state subsidized coops are not as productive or efficient because they are subsidized by the government. This directly relates to my PE org because I am able to understand more the mentality of the workers there, and how economics is playing out. This contributes to UBPC article because I am able to add more information about efficiency and production levels (that will than be helpful for me by comparing them to CPA article in my area).

2.

Cuban agriculture. Messina, William. Florida international law journal [0882-6420] yr:2002 vol:15 iss:1-2 pg:87

This source helped me see some actual factual data about UBPC, and the productions in the past. This is necessary to get some raw information, including number of pounds of sugarcane that were sold, and the relative profits. The key ideas in this article is that UBPC helped Cuba provide food for its people after the fall of the Soviet Union, but, even as the Cuban state agrees, UBPC are not that profitable. The current situation of food production in Cuba remains rather fragile. This is helpful for my Practice Experience because I will take in the full value of UBPC- how they have tremendously helped the Cuban people in providing food, while also not achieving their current efficient levels.

3.

Machado, Hilda, et al. “Revivification of UBPCs as Socialist Production Organization: Strategy of Agricultural Development in Matanzas, Cuba.” Pastos y Forrajes, vol. 32, no. 1, Jan. 2009, pp. 81–91.

This source helps get an insight into how much the UBPC actually provide as a means of income for the families, of the people who work there. This source’s key point is about the socioeconomic positions of the people who work at the cooperatives and their view. This is necessary because my above 2 sources focus more on the society and economy, not so much about the individuals working these UBPCs. This relates to my PE because I am able to gain even more information on the pro’s and con’s for them of working at the UBPC.

4) Cooperatives and Socialism: A View From Cuba CAMILA PIÑEIRO HARNECKER. (2013). Foreign Affairs, (5), 169. Retrieved from https://libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dedsjsr%26AN%3dedsjsr.23527552%26site%3deds-live

http://ouleft.org/wp-content/uploads/Cooperatives-and%20Socialism-Camila-Pineiro-Harnecker.pdf

This source was very valuable as it provided great insight to the history of the formation of all the agricultural styles in Cuba today. Very straightforward and concise, Harnecker summarizes the distinct differences between all of them. This is valuable for me to gain insight on the concise differences between UBPC as contrasted with CSS, CPA, state farms, and private farms and cooperative farms because it will better allow me to see the situational place where UBPC belongs.

5) ZUKAS, A. (2014). Tierralismo: Stories from a Cooperative Farm. Environment, Space, Place, 6(2), 130. Retrieved from https://libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dedb%26AN%3d116183887%26site%3deds-live

https://www-ceeol-com.libproxy.berkeley.edu/search/viewpdf?id=290964

This source underlines the specificities to UBPC Alamar specifically. Because UBPC Alamar is the most famous out of all of the UBPC, this documentary review focuses on specific stories from the locals and examines the direct influence women and retired people have on the proceedings at this UBPC. This is very important because it gives me a inside scoop of President Saltines and his daughter who run the organization, along with the other managers and their deepest hopes in regards to the sustainable farming. This will hopefully be an aid when I am able to meet them and converse with them.

6) Contino-Esquijerosa, Y., Iglesias-Gómez, J. M., Toral-Pérez, O. C., Blanco-Lobaina, J., González-Novo, M., Caballero-Grande, R., & Perera-Concepción, E. (2018). Adoption of new agroecological practices in three basic units of cooperative production. Pastos y Forrajes, 41(1), 52–58. Retrieved from https://libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3da9h%26AN%3d129676594%26site%3deds-live

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=7037eaac-11b7-4801-9e90-27cf99765f3c%40sdc-v-sessmgr03

This source talks about the pest control, crop rotation, and agroforestry systems that were studied in three different UBPCs (not Alamar). It takes about how the meetings with the experts and the farmers are vital for the information to be shared, and then implemented in the best way possible. It goes into detail about the biological ways of sustainability within UBPCs, such as polycropping, biological pest control, production diversification, crop rotation, production of organic fertilizers, use of organic fertilizers, soil conservation and protection, and other practices. This relates to my PE because I will be learning about all of these sustainable techniques as I am part of the educational class, after which I will be placed in one or more than one of these sections to work. It is beneficial for me to first learn about it through this reading, and to see how this information even gets to the farmers (via experts).

7) Burchardt, H.-J. (2001). Cuba’s Agriculture after the New Reforms: Between Stagnation and Sustainable Development. Socialism & Democracy, 15(1), 141. Retrieved from https://libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dedb%26AN%3d5064392%26site%3deds-live

https://www-tandfonline-com.libproxy.berkeley.edu/doi/pdf/10.1080/08854300108428283?needAccess=true

This source talks in detail about the time of the Special Period, the time of transition, when ration cards first being implemented along with a new food program, which drastically failed. This is yet another angle of light into the creation of the UBPC, now seemingly being a second choice alternative to the first choice method falling through. This is interesting information to know about my PE, as the government did not jump to create these from the start, and was in fact hesitant and treated it like a second choice. Only currently does the state start to see the fruits and is endorsing sustainable farming more. This allows me to see the state in a new light as a primary factor and driver for the UBPC.

Non-Scholarly:

Tierralismo. (2014). [Brooklyn, N.Y.]: [Distributed by] Icarus Films. Retrieved from https://libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dedsasp%26AN%3dedsasp.doc00000154%26site%3deds-live

This source outlined the UBPC Alamar staff and their perspectives on the work they do. The most political was the President Saltines who talked a lot about the history and the current situation with the state in regards to the UBPC. The current state puts forth a lot of propaganda against farm workers, in an effort to push their citizens to get university degrees. This helped me tremendously with my PE because I was able to see and familiarize myself with the local workers and their history in addition to the space itself.

Alpert, Jon, director. Cuba and the Cameraman. 2017.

This source outlined the general political context of Cuba over the ages, and followed a group of farm workers over time. This source helped me see the private farmer lifestyle, while also seeing the similarities between them and the cooperative style UBPC farms. This helped me gain respect for Fidel Castro and see the politics in a new light without American motives about Cuba being “the forbidden island”. This helped me for my PE to dive deeper into the situation Cubans lived through before and after the time of the creation of the UBPC. This helped me see the more broader, social context of Cuban life and wellbeing, that may or may not have greatly changed with the creation of UBPCs.

Anywhere. “Agriculture.” Cuba 2018 Holiday and Festival Guide, 2018, www.anywhere.com/cuba/travel-guide/agriculture.

This source very briefly summarizes Cuban agriculture, starting with sugar plantations and ending with organic farming. It was useful for a very concise summary, as many of my other sources are very long and can get confusing. This article also provided some statistics about current productions of certain produce. It is relevant to my PE to be comfortable saying the history of Cuban agriculture as briefly and concisely as this article does.

Atwood, Roger. “Organic or Starve: Can Cuba's New Farming Model Provide Food Security?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 28 Oct. 2017, www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/28/organic-or-starve-can-cubas-new-farming-model-provide-food-security.

This source talked a lot about the sugar factories and American companies who exploited these opportunities. It talks about the factories and towns and railroads that were mostly built because of the money from these big businesses, like Hershey. This help me gain some perspective about the Cuban agriculture before the Special Period, and to see who it benefited. This is relevant to my PE because the mass production as was seen in the sugar factories, is still prevalent in the current government officials of Cuba. It is interesting to see why that is, and to have something to compare it too.

Sector

1.

Cook ML, Iliopoulos C, Chaddad FR. 2004. Advances in cooperative theory since 1990: a review of agricultural economics literature. In Restructuring Agricultural Cooperatives, ed. GWJ Hendrikse, pp. 65–90. Rotterdam: Rotterdam Sch. Manag., Erasmus Univ.

This source helped better my understanding of the evolution of cooperatives, mainly in capitalist countries such as Europe and United States. This will have me better compare and contrast the experiences I will have at my PE because I will understand the general flow of ideas and where they changed, due to a difference in governments.

2.

The Future of Agricultural Cooperatives

Home Annual Review of Resource Economics Volume 5, 2013 Fulton, pp 61-91

This source reviews different economic literature on agricultural cooperatives and discusses the main points brought about by a multitude of authors. This is helpful because it allows me to see the economic evaluations of cooperatives within the capitalist economy. This helps me see the differences of a capitalist based cooperative with the socialist cooperative. I will be able to better understand the positives and negatives with UBPC, by reading this.

3.

Conference on "Cooperatives: Their Importance in the Future of the Food and Agricultural System," Food and Agricultural Marketing Consortium, Las Vegas, NV, January 16-17, 1997.

This source focuses on the the societal cooperation within the cooperative that would make it successful and which usually interferes with progress. This source also talks about some useful policies that would provide better incentives to the farmers which would in turn make the cooperatives more effective and efficient. This is also good basic knowledge to have as I see the same workings in UBPC.

4) Cooperatives and Socialism: A View From Cuba CAMILA PIÑEIRO HARNECKER. (2013). Foreign Affairs, (5), 169. Retrieved from https://libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dedsjsr%26AN%3dedsjsr.23527552%26site%3deds-live

http://ouleft.org/wp-content/uploads/Cooperatives-and%20Socialism-Camila-Pineiro-Harnecker.pdf

This source had a very clear summary of the history that led to the creation of CSS, CPA, and UBPC. It also clearly identifies the differneces between the UBPC, state farms, cooperative farms and private farms with a very useful table. The other chart which clearly separates and distinguishes CPA and UBPC was very informative and valuable information for both UBPC and CPA wikipedia pages. This is very helpful for my PE for me to be able to understand more fully the differences between all of the different agriculture types in Cuba, to then be able to appreciate UBPC value even more.

5) Deere, C. D. (1993). Household incomes in Cuban agriculture : a comparison of the state, cooperative, and peasant sectors. The Hague, Netherlands : Publications Office, Institute of Social Studies, [1993]. Retrieved from https://libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dcat04202a%26AN%3ducb.b15022549%26site%3deds-live

This source was written by the Institute of Social Studies in the Netherlands to better explain the differences within the sectors of Cuban Agriculture. This source focused on three specific municipalities in Cuba and their relative household income differences when compared with state and private cooperatives. This provided insight on the nuances between the different CPA and CSS ways. It did not mention UBPC, as it was implied in the “state farms” section. This help me see that different municipalities have their own pros and cons as well, that sometimes influence their household income as well. This is important as I go to Alamar, as I am not aware how it fits in with the other municipalities and if it is way better or just average.

6) Altieri, M. A., & Funes-Monzote, F. R. (2012). The Paradox of Cuban Agriculture. Monthly Review: An Independent Socialist Magazine, 63(8), 23. Retrieved from https://libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3df5h%26AN%3d69834328%26site%3deds-live

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.libproxy.berkeley.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=9&sid=19f488b0-76d8-4f8f-8388-c922a146d26f%40pdc-v-sessmgr06

This source talks about the paradox that despite agricultural cooperatives gaining worldwide support, Cuba still imports much of its food. An important example of this is soybean and wheat from the United States. This source has debates on despite Cuba being praised for its sustainable agriculture, still many agricultural cooperative use pesticides (with specific data from main pesticide provider). This is important for me to read, to see the other side of these agroecological cooperatives, and to see how they are still placed at 2nd place sometimes. This shows the deeper political structures that are undermining this new urban farming movement.

7) JENNIFER ABBASSI. (1998). The Role of the 1990s Food Markets in the Decentralization of Cuban Agriculture. Cuban Studies, 21. Retrieved from https://libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dedsjsr%26AN%3dedsjsr.24487815%26site%3deds-live

http://p8888-ucelinks.cdlib.org.libproxy.berkeley.edu/sfx_local?genre=article&atitle=The%20Role%20of%20the%201990s%20Food%20Markets%20in%20the%20Decentralization%20of%20Cuban%20Agriculture&title=Cuban%20Studies&issn=03614441&isbn=&volume=27&issue=&date=19980101&aulast=JENNIFER%20ABBASSI&spage=21&pages=&sid=EBSCO:JSTOR%20Journals:edsjsr.24487815

This source describes the formation of CPA, by first describing UBPC formation and success. An ANAP agro economist states that current UBPC are where CPA were 15 years ago. This source provides data on how 85% of CPA became to be self sufficient. It also provides a detailed chart with the differences between all of the agricultural systems in Cuba, which is extremely straightforward and helpful. This helps me see the differences between the systems, with a focus on CPA and also analyze the differences between farmers’ markets and agricultural markets. This is related to my PE as I am further able to understand where UBPC are placed within the agricultural variation in Cuba.

8) Leitgeb, Friedrich, et al. “Increasing Food Sovereignty with Urban Agriculture in Cuba.” Agriculture & Human Values, vol. 33, no. 2, June 2016, pp. 415–426. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s10460-015-9616-9.

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.libproxy.berkeley.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=14&sid=19f488b0-76d8-4f8f-8388-c922a146d26f%40pdc-v-sessmgr06

This source describes the economic and political realms that went into the formation of sustainable agriculture in Cuba. It was also profitable because it would nationalize the country, and lean away from “privatized commercialization” which was rapidly engulfing Cuba. This is important for my PE as I not only look for the most obvious reasons for the creations of UBPC, but also dig deeper to find other possible reasons that also contributed.


 * http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe487 and http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe562
 * https://ascecuba.org//c/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/v09-messina.pdf
 * “Cooperatives and Socialism: A View From Cuba CAMILA PIÑEIRO HARNECKER.” Foreign Affairs, no. 5, 2013, p. 169. EBSCOhost, libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dedsjsr%26AN%3dedsjsr.23527552%26site%3deds-live.
 * Alex Zukas. “Environment, Space, Place.” Environment, Space, Place, vol. 6, no. 2, 2014, pp. 130–135. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/envispacplac.6.2.0130.
 * Cuban agriculture. Messina, William. Florida international law journal [0882-6420] yr:2002 vol:15 iss:1-2 pg:87
 * Machado, Hilda, et al. “Revivification of UBPCs as Socialist Production Organization: Strategy of Agricultural Development in Matanzas, Cuba.” Pastos y Forrajes, vol. 32, no. 1, Jan. 2009, pp. 81–91. EBSCOhost, libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3da9h%26AN%3d44459550%26site%3deds-live.
 * Contino-Esquijerosa, Yuván, et al. “Adoption of New Agroecological Practices in Three Basic Units of Cooperative Production.” Pastos y Forrajes, vol. 41, no. 1, Jan. 2018, pp. 52–58. EBSCOhost, libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3da9h%26AN%3d129676594%26site%3deds-live.
 * Burchardt, Hans-Jurgen. “Cuba’s Agriculture after the New Reforms: Between Stagnation and Sustainable Development.” Socialism and Democracy, vol. 15, no. 1, Apr. 2001, pp. 141–154. EBSCOhost, libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dapn%26AN%3dALTP286523%26site%3deds-live.
 * Leitgeb, Friedrich, et al. “Increasing Food Sovereignty with Urban Agriculture in Cuba.” Agriculture & Human Values, vol. 33, no. 2, June 2016, pp. 415–426. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s10460-015-9616-9.

Sector

 * Wedig, Karin, and Jörg Wiegratz. “Neoliberalism and the Revival of Agricultural Cooperatives: The Case of the Coffee Sector in Uganda.” Journal of Agrarian Change, vol. 18, no. 2, Apr. 2018, pp. 348–369. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/joac.12221.
 * Abate, Gashaw Tadesse. “Drivers of Agricultural Cooperative Formation and Farmers’ Membership and Patronage Decisions in Ethiopia.” Journal of Co-Operative Organization and Management, June 2018. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.jcom.2018.06.002.
 * Natacha Teresa Mesa Tejeda, and María Karla Hernández Atienza. “About the Legal Regulation of the Conflicts Resolution Regarding the Non-Agricultural Cooperatives in Cuba.” Boletín de La Asociación Internacional de Derecho Cooperativo, Vol 0, Iss 51, Pp 243-259 (2017), no. 51, 2017, p. 243. EBSCOhost, doi:10.18543/baidc-51-2017pp243-259.
 * HILLIOVA, Marketa, et al. “Reaching the Rural Poor through Agricultural Cooperatives in Mongolia.” Annals of Public & Cooperative Economics, vol. 88, no. 3, Sept. 2017, pp. 449–466. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/apce.12162.
 * Yulier Campos Pérez, and Liuva León García. “Critical Analysis to the Obligations Contracted in the Period of Formation of the Non Agricultural Cooperatives in Cuba.” Boletín de La Asociación Internacional de Derecho Cooperativo, Vol 0, Iss 51, Pp 261-285 (2017), no. 51, 2017, p. 261. EBSCOhost, doi:10.18543/baidc-51-2017pp261-285.
 * Alnoor Ebrahim. “Agricultural Cooperatives in Gujarat, India: Agents of Equity or Differentiation? (Les Coopératives Agricoles Du Gujarat, En Inde: Agents d’équité Ou de Différenciation? / Cooperativas Agrícolas Em Gujarat, Índia: Agentes Da Igualdade Ou Da Diferenciação? / Cooperativas Agrarias En Gujarat, India: ¿Agentes de Equidad o Diferenciación?).” Development in Practice, no. 2, 2000, p. 178. EBSCOhost, libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dedsjsr%26AN%3dedsjsr.4029374%26site%3deds-live.
 * Thorner, Daniel. Agricultural Cooperatives in India; a Field Report. London, Asia Pub. House [1964?], 1964. EBSCOhost, libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dcat04202a%26AN%3ducb.b16965185%26site%3deds-live.
 * Alex, Jiju P. “Powering the Women in Agriculture: Lessons on Women Led Farm Mechanisation in South India.” Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, vol. 19, no. 5, Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 1 Jan. 2013, p. 487. EBSCOhost, libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3deric%26AN%3dEJ1021378%26site%3deds-live.
 * Ahmed, Musa, and Hiwot Mesfin. “The Impact of Agricultural Cooperatives Membership on the Wellbeing of Smallholder Farmers: Empirical Evidence from Eastern Ethiopia.” Agricultural & Food Economics, vol. 5, no. 1, Apr. 2017, p. 1. EBSCOhost, libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dedb%26AN%3d122298007%26site%3deds-live.
 * Chaddad, Fabio, and Constantine Iliopoulos. “Control Rights, Governance, and the Costs of Ownership in Agricultural Cooperatives.” Agribusiness, vol. 29, no. 1, Winter 2013, pp. 3–22. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1002/agr.21328.
 * Maribel Almaguer Rondón, et al. “Gender Relationships in Agricultural Cooperatives in Camagüey.” Agrisost, Vol 22, Iss 2, Pp 21-31 (2016), no. 2, 2016, p. 21. EBSCOhost, libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dedsdoj%26AN%3dedsdoj.b10e3fc7cb0d4103b5bc70ea458d532d%26site%3deds-live.
 * Gardner, Bruce L., and Zvi Lerman. “Agricultural Cooperative Enterprise In The Transition From Socialist Collective Farming.” Discussion Papers, 2006. EBSCOhost, libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dedsrep%26AN%3dedsrep.p.ags.huaedp.7174%26site%3deds-live.

Non Scholarly Sources
Area


 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs6xoKmnYq8
 * http://icarusfilms.com/if-tie

Sector


 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_z5RUsIj3c

Plans
quotes from scholarly sources:

after fall of soviet union, NOT COUNTRIES THEMSELVES: Proponents of cooperatives as a means of progress in the agricultural sectors of transition economies, at a conference of the International Cooperative Alliance in 1995, formulated the following principles of “genuine” cooperation (Couture, et al., 2002:2): -- democratic member control (generally ‘one-member, one vote’) -- voluntary and open membership -- member economic participation (on the basis of equity provided by members, with limitations on individually held equity) -- distribution of surpluses or profits as patronage refunds -- social consciousness (providing training and information, and community services).(EXACTLY WHAT ALAMAR VIVERO)

These principles are essentially congruent with U.S. statements of what distinguishes cooperatives from other forms of business, namely: “First, persons who own and finance the cooperative are those that use it. Second, control of the cooperative is by those who use it. Third, benefits of the cooperative are distributed to its users on the basis of their use.” (Barton, 1989:1).

Yet agricultural cooperatives in transition countries are not really cooperatives in the Western sense of the word and they are virtually indistinguishable from other corporate farms. The term “cooperative” thus appears to be a misnomer for farms in transition countries.

a connection between the individual and the land, as a way of stimulating interest in work and a concrete sense eo personal and collective responsibility.

this principle addresses an essential question because it is related to the worker’s perception of ownership and the achievement of a sense of ownership. the aim is for the following:

increase labor intensity and productivity, thus addressing labor shortages.

genuinely involve all members in collective management to encourage their initiatives and prepare them to assume leadership roles

link income with production results

implement the theory of modern business administration in teamwork using a highly autonomous small group.

in addition, there are additional elements that maintain the collective interests of all UBPCs: self sufficiency, construction of housing and facilities, distribution of profits, community involvement, and cooperative education, etc. pg 301

questions: “Moreover, it is imp to look at the q of why the economic output of the UBPCs ins not in line w their resources. what factors are keeping UBPCs from operating  as real cooperatives? what management model should UBPCs use to turn around their current situation and boost their contribution to Cuban agriculture?” pg 292

attributes and duties of UBPC (regulation, stating that they are not owners of the land) pg 304

Socioeconomic Essense of UBPCs

characteristics related to the cooperative form:


 * they have collective legal ownership of most of the means of production
 * they own their production and economic surplus

UBPC realizes and implements social property.

UBPCs are an attempt to resolve the contradictions of property in the process of building socialism in the following manner:

-maintaining the state as the legal one of the most important means of production, and grating UBPC legal ownership over th rest

-ensuring centralized management of the economy, social interests, and strategic decision via state control

-granting extensive management autonomy to the UBPC to fulfill indicated objectives

-recognizing that cooperative principle are consistent w socialist economic interests and values pg 308

current situation of UBPC - 309

ubpc - “we are a farm attached to the enterprise with a separate bank account”

SUPER NEEDED:

"DIFF CPA AND UBPC:

Table 13.1 Differences between CPAs and UBPCs

CPAs

Their functioning is governed by Law No. 95, passed by the National Assembly.

They legally own the land they possess.

They are created by individual farmers who contribute their land and assets.

Their vehicles are identified as belonging to cooperatives.

According to the social security law, Decree-law 217 is applied as a special case.

Their accounting procedures include a “sociocultural” account, for carrying out activities related to workers’ well-being and other collective aspects approved by their assembly.

By law, up to 70 percent of their profits may be distributed.

The cooperative’s top leader is called “president.”

They are widely recognized as cooperatives.

Their case is similar to that of the UBPCs, although less so.

The cooperative president is revoked by the assembly, and as an exceptional case, the ANAP is the only entity authorized to request that the assembly revokes a president when necessary.

They are served by a mass organization, ANAP, which represents them, demands that they fulfill their duties, and defends their rights.

UBPCs

Their functioning is governed by Ministry of Agriculture Resolution 629/04, based on Decree-law 142/93.

They possess the land with usufruct rights.

They were created from the division of unproductive, inefficient state entities that existed in 1993.

Their vehicles, which they own collectively, are identified as belonging to the state.

They are governed by what is stipulated for the state sector.

They have limitations on using reserve funds for workers’ well-being and other collective aspects.

Up to 50 percent of their profits may be distributed, and up to 70 percent when they have been profitable for three years or more.

The cooperative’s top leader is called “administrator.”

They are not adequately recognized as cooperatives.

They are limited in the use of their funds; they must use the account of the enterprise to which they are subordinated to buy and sell.

The administrator is revoked by

the assembly, and occasionally the enterprise may request that the assembly do so; also, the administrator may be dismissed without taking the assembly into account.

They are served by mass organizations, the CTC and two trade unions, which have larger percentages of other members to serve, which is why the UBPCs have not been a priority.

Continued

Table 13.1 Continued

CPAs

Each CPA has a president charged with strategic decisions, a board

of directors, and an administrator charged with all operational activities, together with an administrative council.

The CPAs have a culture of discipline and respect for decisions made

by assembly, according to what is stipulated by Law. No. 5.

UBPCs

Each UBPC has just one administrator, who is charged with all of the cooperative’s functions, along with an administrative council.

The UBPC General Regulations stipulate that the assembly approves all cooperative functions, but this is not complied with, and is violated systematically.

The UBPC 311

Source: UBPC National Leadership, MINAG, 2010."

my draft:

UBPCs have characteristics that are similar to an autonomous cooperative farm which own their land and retain full profit from their production. However, in Cuba these autonomous cooperatives are called Cooperativa de Producción Agropecuaria (CPA) or Agricultural Production Cooperative.

UBPC’s were created out of state owned land, which is different to CPAs in the sense that CPA’s own their land and have more control over their own production. UBPC’s were created on state owned land which allows the state to dictate production levels.

UBPC are run on 42% of Cuban agriculture and produce ___ of Cuban agricultural goods. ( https://ascecuba.org//c/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/v09-messina.pdf )

Instead of being viewed as farmers in the case of CPA, the employees at UBPCs are simply viewed as workers, highly managed by the government, which excludes UBPC from the laws governing agricultural cooperatives in Cuba. The government manages the distribution of profits, one of the regulations being that as seniority rises, profits will rise for those workers, even up to 70%. The state commands UBPC to allocate profits in the case of natural disasters or any other emergency. The state controls how conflicts will be resolved with implemented leadership structures, regulates labor rights, social security of the workers, their shares of profits, guidelines to form or shut down cooperatives, as well as the communication between UBPC between the central, local government, and CPAs.

Leasing the agricultural land, gives the workers an illusion that they own the land, and helps stimulate a personal responsibility between the worker and the land, thus trying to incentivize work through a false perception of autonomous ownership. With using self interest of the less monopolistic market incentive, UBPCs still maintained the state of the head of production levels, and kept the management economic and social decisions to the state. The country was faced with either starvation, for lack of imports of gas and fuel for the Soviet subsidized industrial mass production of agriculture for the Cuban tractors or adaptation of their agricultural production methods. The strategic implementation of UBPC, while also producing vital food for the Cuban population, also pertain hidden market based theory intentions of diminishing labor shortages through increase in labor productivity and intensity through a perception of self proficiency, ownership as well as the combination of production results which shows business concepts. Other incentives was to develop leadership and initiatives through the collective management system.

All UBPC are run with the values of cooperative education, community involvement through self sufficiency, collective meetings (Tierralismo, Vivero Alamar), distribution of profits with shares (Tierralismo, Vivero Alamar), and the production and upkeep of housing and facilities.

Agricultural Cooperatives

quotes from scholarly articles: "Exemplar organizations tend to range along a continuum from investment oriented firms (IOFs) at the profits end, to the Kibbutz at the life meaning end as shown in Figure 1. Cooperative organizations can be found at different locations on the continuum, with a predominance located within the service purpose, i.e. a focus on serving the greatest numbers of people over the longest period of time (Craig, 1993; Nadeau and Thompson, 1996). Most farm input and service cooperatives fall into this spot on the continuum. Agricultural marketing cooperatives tend to be found between the service and profit purpose orientation, with new generation cooperatives attempting to preserve earnings benefits for defined membership over time. The life meaning purpose at the other end of the continuum gives much greater focus to participation and democratic process. Cooperative organizations typically contain elements of all three of these tendencies." (Conference on "Cooperatives: Their Importance in the Future of the Food and Agricultural System," Food and Agricultural Marketing Consortium, Las Vegas, NV, January 16-17, 1997.

"The term ‘cooperation’ in this context has at least two meanings that still need some clarification. The first regards cooperation in the broad sense as a form of labor organization characterized by joint action or collective work, i.e., a synonym for social interaction and mutual help. For instance, Kropotkin (1972), a prominent representative of anarchist thought, favored such interpretation and counterposed it to both individualism and the state as a third (cooperative) way of social development. We consider cooperation in its narrower meaning, i.e., as a specific form of economic organization within the national labor market including, but not limited to, ‘cooperatives’ as companies (legal entities) and ‘cooperators’ as their members.

Such an organizational form, alternative to the standard business firm, is typical for capitalist market economies.

However, the most important function of rural cooperatives for the Soviet government was processing and supplying agricultural production to (starving) cities.

Agricultural production cooperatives were traditional for the Russian peasantry in the form of artels with communal ownership and use of land, tools and most of the cattle. Soviet kolkhozes were the successors of this tradition, though their members possessed some individual property (a house, a little plot of land, cattle, etc.)." (SOBOLEV, A., et al. “Cooperation in Rural Russia: Past, Present and Future.” Universe of Russia, vol. 27, no. 1, Jan. 2018, p. 65. EBSCOhost, libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dedb%26AN%3d129715185%26site%3deds-live.)

Draft 2

Effective management in cooperatives entails each member working by their personal principals which are governed by directors. (Conference on "Cooperatives: Their Importance in the Future of the Food and Agricultural System," Food and Agricultural Marketing Consortium, Las Vegas, NV, January 16-17, 1997.)

Marketing cooperatives consists of independent privately owned cooperatives that each are fighting for their own place in the economic sphere of agriculture. These are not the majority in Cuba because the majority are state owned, and not privately owned agricultural cooperatives.

Cooperatives have the goal to maximize the benefits of its members. In a way of maximizing their profits, the cooperative distributes all earnings to members, including seniority. In UBPC the state also takes some of their profits, so the members do not get all of the earnings.

Following the stable economic system in which private property has been inforced and protected, is when agricultural cooperatives can really flourish as a sustainable business.

There are three main purposes of economic organizations which are: making profits, providing services, and realizing meaning.

Agricultural marketing cooperatives are argued to be a form of a market firm, which operates most efficiently when NMRP(M) = Pm(M) which maximizes profits. (Sexton RJ. 1995. A perspective on Helmberger and Hoos’ theory of cooperatives. J. Coop. 10:92–99). Other important facts about marketing cooperative are that '''“quote: 1. the cooperative accepts members' entire production, 2. members are treated uniformly, 3. members are bound contractually to deliver their entire production to the cooperative, 4. members act as price takers in dealings with the cooperative, and 5. the cooperative operates at cost-Le., subject to a break-even constraint.”'''

Agricultural cooperatives have extreme potential for eradicating poverty by the creation of new jobs, production of more goods and therefore profit, and by economically empowering the members. (Agricultural Cooperatives I: History, Theory and Problems. 2007. EBSCOhost, libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dedsagr%26AN%3dedsagr.US2016206364%26site%3deds-live.)

A marketing agricultural cooperative is where farmers send the raw ingredients to a collective factory of sorts, where other farmers’ products get processes as well. These cooperatives then sell these items they have bought from individual farmers and sell them.

Sporleder, Thomas L. “Capital Market Innovations and Agricultural Cooperatives.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, vol. 81, no. 5, Dec. 1999, p. 1247. EBSCOhost, libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dbth%26AN%3d2864818%26site%3deds-live.

I now will change to write on CPAs. Draft 2:

notes:

"About one third of all peasant families, some 110,000 families, have joined ANAP within its Farmer to Farmer Agroecological Movement (MACAC, Movimiento Agroecológico Campesino a Campesino). It uses participatory methods based on local peasant needs and allows for the socialization of the rich pool of family and community agricultural knowl- edge that is linked to their specific historical conditions and identities. By exchanging innovations among themselves, peasants have been able to make dramatic strides in food production relative to the conventional sector, while preserving agrobiodiversity and using much lower amounts of agrochemicals.31"

Summary:

"The Cuban agricultural sector is made up of five types of production entities: the UBPCs, CPAs, CCSs, private, and state. These five organ- izational forms, in turn, comply with or correspond to different forms of ownership and possession; the first three are considered as cooperative forms.

-The problems and difficulties currently faced by the UBPCs and the agriculture sector as a whole show that the forces of production are at a halt. Therefore, production relations must be modified so that the question of the realization of property is achieved throughout the production cycle of production, distribution, exchange, and consumption.

●  It is worth noting that the forms seen to be most efficient are the CCSs and private farmers. This leads to the conclusion that an in-depth analysis and assessment of property forms are needed. 290

Since 1994, the coopera- tive form has predominated in Cuban agriculture (as UBPCs, CPAs, and CCSs) and more than 85 percent of the land has continued to be socially owned 298"

"The most successful organizational form is the CCS because it is able to maintain a real sense of ownership, which benefits its operations and sustainability over time. Moreover, the CCS has much broader manage- ment powers than the CPA, and that is even truer when compared to the UBPC"

CPA famers have no individual farms and instead own the land collectively under National Association of Small Farmer, or Asociación Nacional de Agricultores Pequeños (ANAP), which represents a cooperative of small, state separate farmers. ANAP owns 99% of non-state owned agricultural cooperatives. The ANAP collective produce 40% of Cuban agricultural goods while owning 26% of Cuban's farmland. (http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.libproxy.berkeley.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=a4425df2-6528-4a26-a61c-19b35ea26cff%40pdc-v-sessmgr06)

Contributions
general:

Cuban agriculture consists of state and private farms, both of which are managed by either the Ministry of Agriculture which manages livestock and various crops or the Ministry of Sugar which manages sugarcane. (CPA 5) There are many variations within these categories, thus expanding the agricultural sector to include cooperatives: UBPCs, CPAs, CCSs, private, and state. (CPA 4).

History:

From the 1750s to 1800s, Cuba's agriculture was dominated by the plantation system which constituted the economy solely to the exports of sugar, tobacco and coffee. These commodities ran Cuba's economy for more than 150 years, until January 1959 with the Communist Revolution. (UBPC 7). In 1959, 73.3 percent of the country's land belonged to only 9.4 percent of landowners, which also showed the disparity in wealth income due to agricultural production. (CPA 4)

The layout for cooperative agriculture was created after the 1959 Revolution with the Agrarian Reform Act which transferred 70% of farmland from vast colonial farms (UBPC 7) to the state (CPA 4). The state farms were created with a Fordist model of immediate mass production via use of chemicals, massive productive units, and specialized units (UBPC 7).

In 1960, the bank which provided loans to farmers shut down, and so the Credit and Service Cooperatives (Cooperativas de Créditos y Servicios, CCS) were created as a way for tobacco farmers to still receive necessary loans. CSS farmers still were individual owners of their land, and retained the liberty to exit the cooperative at any time and still own their land and their production. (CPA 4).

CSS consisted of farmers voluntarily joining each other to gain access to loans, new technology that would otherwise be too expensive to individually obtain, marketing benefits, among others. In 1961, National Association of Small Farmers (Asociación Nacional de Pequeños Agricultores, ANAP) was created to represent both individual and cooperative members. (CPA 4)

In 1975 a decision was made to switch to more advanced types of production, which created the Agricultural Production Cooperatives (Cooperativas de Producción Agropecuaria, CPAs). CPAs were comprised of private farmers who voluntarily donated their land to the cooperative. CPAs were different then CSS because the farmers received payment for selling their resources to the cooperative, after which becoming collective workers and owners.

In 1993 the Basic Units of Cooperative Production (Unidades Básicas de Producción Cooperativa, UBPCs) were created by the Political Bureau of the Cuban Communist Party (UBPC 4) from 735 state-owned sugar-cane farms and 835 other agricultural farms (UBPC 7) during the Special Period. CPAs and CSSs were more prepared than the state farms at producing under the scarce resources of the Special Period. In 1992, 85 percent of the CPAs were profitable whereas in 1990 only 27 percent of state farms were profitable, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAG)(CPA 4). The goal was to create a hybrid UBPC which had the goals to expand food production, create a bigger workforce, improve living standards by increase accessibility to social services and housing, and reduce agricultural subsidies. (UBPC 7)

The workers at these state enterprises became collective workers overnight when they were given rent free land, limitless usufruct rights and production infrastructure with loans. The collective workers had free reign to democratically electing leaders of their UBPC, who would also present reports about their mandates to them. The UBPC principles are to address labor shortages by stimulating productivity, to raise income with a greater production, to implement modern teamwork strategies by involving all members into decision making processes and management. (UBPC 4) The positive CPA model of more than 20 years proved to work, which greatly influenced the formation of UBPC.

However, the caveat of UBPC land not belonging to the leaders of the land but the state, along with not distributing the profits because it is also mandated by the state, has led many UBPC to be unprofitable for lack of incentives. (UBPC 4)

The CSS are the most efficient out of the three main cooperative models because the autonomous ownership leads to higher management powers than the CPA, and even more compared to UBPC. (CPA 4 and 5) About a third CSS farmers have joined ANAP, which uses participatory methods founded on the basis of locals needs and also provides community knowledge about farming and the industry that is linked to specific intersection of  identities in a given place with specific history. By allowing the community to exchange their information and newest innovations and technology with themselves, there has been a big increase in using less agrochemicals in exchange with preserving agrobiodiversity. CPA 6)

add differences between CPA and UBPC here: see chart

difficulties of UBPC:

UBPC are state run cooperatives, which commits them to selling 70% of their primary production produce to the Acopio (state) and some of their non primary production as well at much lower prices than the typical supply and demand farmers' markets, which in turn usually do not cover costs. Since there is no market for supply for the producers, they are state reliant for production resources. They are thus not realized as a state autonomous enterprises and are subject to an intermediate organization that dictates centralized decisions, such as the types and quantity of supply they receive, how much to produce, at what prices to sell at, what is worth investing into, among others. (CPA 4) UBPCs' have difficulty managing internal accounting and the lack of incentives for work given limited distribution of profits.

conclusion:

Currently these different types of agricultural cooperatives dominate more than 85% of Cuba's agricultural land. (CPA 4) Urban farming also provides 80% of vegetable crops to Havana (CPA 6). The 25% of peasant owned land combined with the 42% of UBPC owned land has potential to feed Cuba's entire population, provide food for tourist industry and even export food if they emphasized more sustainable techniques. (CPA 6) Cuba has been the first country that has achieved the most success with sustainable farming via (ecological services of biodiversity and reduces food miles, energy use, and effectively closes local production and consumption cycles) and has shown how political reforms can aid to national food security.

future: (italisized= not my words, and I don't know if I will post this.)

''possible reforms to make UBPC more effective: First, an appropriate legal framework is needed because the current one is restrictive and prevents UBPCs from developing as genuine cooperatives. One solution could be to include them in Law No. 94 (the CCS and CPA law), adding an appendix that covers their specific characteristics. Another would be to pass a general cooperative law. (UBPC 4)''

''Cuba has been able to reach high levels of production using low amounts of energy and external inputs, with returns to investment on research several times higher than those derived from industrial and biotechnological approaches that require major equipment, fuel, and sophisticated laboratories. 33 (CPA 6)''

''The agroecological movement constantly urges those Cuban policy makers with a conventional, Green Revolution, industrial farming mindset to consider the reality of a small island nation facing an embargo and potentially devastating hurricanes. Given these realities, embracing agroecological approaches and methods throughout the country’s agriculture can help Cuba achieve food sovereignty while maintaining its political autonomy. 33 (CPA 6)''

''No other country in the world has achieved this level of success with a form of agriculture that uses the ecological services of biodiversity and reduces food miles, energy use, and effectively closes local production and consumption cycles. 25 (CPA 6)''

SPECIFIC TO UBPC ALAMAR:

UBPC Alamar is changing the old motif that Cuban peasants are the lowest of society. Many of the current workers have middle class backgrounds such as doctor, technicians and bureaucrats that lost opportunity to work after the collapse of the Soviet Union. UBPC has both youth and retired citizens working with them. The motive that coop members do not own their land but neither have to pay rent is emphasized in Alamar. After working many years, the promotion and share system equates to a doctors salary. The work day is typically 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. with an hour lunch break and a 15 minute break. In the summer the work day is only five hours.

Their work is centered on sustainability, and incorporating the natural carbon and water cycles into the process of making biodegradable fertilizers (such as earthworm castings and cow dung) to reduce environmental impact while still keeping food production high. Along with environmental sustainability, UBPC Alamar has achieved greater gender equality by instituting a policy from the demands of coop members that allow one hours leave for mothers to take their children to school, day care or medical appointments. (UBPC 5)

Summary of Capitalist and Cooperative Enterprises:

(CPA 4)

Differences between UBPC and CPA: CPA 4.. Source: UBPC National Leadership, MINAG, 2010.

Differences Between Privately Owned Farms, State Farms, and UBPCs, 1994

Source: Abbassi 1994, 113. (CPA 7)

Autonomy of CPAs
CPAs are operated at a greater level of autonomy from the state than a UBPC or a state farm. Autonomy is limited by centralized economic planning as well as state control over the input market and output market.

Worker participation in CPAs
CPAs allow for democracy within the workplace. Democratic practice tends to be limited to business decisions and is constrained by the centralized economic planning of the Cuban system.