| Body | Main jobs |
|---|---|
| Members (general assembly) | Elect and remove the board, approve bylaw changes and major decisions, receive the annual accounts |
| Board | Set strategy and policies, approve the budget, hire and review the manager, watch risk and the audit |
| Manager | Run daily work within the budget and policies, lead staff, buy and sell, report to the board |
Leading a co-op: governance that works
Before this course: Agribusiness Value Chains: processing, branding and contracts (course 2.19.3). A co-op is like a bus that all the passengers own. The passengers choose the drivers' committee, the committee hires a driver, and the driver drives. Trouble starts when everybody grabs the wheel, or when nobody checks where the bus is going.
- Before this course: Agribusiness Value Chains (course 2.19.3), and before it Agribusiness: Selling Farm Products, Co-ops & Markets (course 2.19) and Farm Selling Basics (course 2.19.1). You can already map a chain, cost processing, build a food-safety system, read a supply contract and review a co-op's books. This course is about leading: money, rules, risk, sustainability, policy and people.
- ICA Guidance Notes. The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) published Guidance Notes to the Co-operative Principles in 2017, written by its Principles Committee. They give practical guidance on applying the principles, and their main audience is future co-op leaders.
- Democracy is not enough on its own. The Guidance Notes say that the democratic process does not by itself guarantee competence. Co-ops also need the separation of democratic and executive powers, with checks and balances under the members' control.
- Accountability. Elected representatives are accountable to the members. They should give members regular accounts and business reports, presented so that members with no formal financial training can follow them, and they should send meeting agendas in advance.
- Rules in the bylaws. The Guidance Notes list governance rules a co-op can put in its bylaws: conflict-of-interest rules for elected members and managers, registers of interests, registers of gifts and hospitality, annual board appraisals and board skills audits.
- Conflicts of interest, co-op style. Members both use the co-op and control it, so every board member has some interest in most decisions. The Guidance Notes say a board member should be kept out of a decision only when their personal interest would give them a benefit that other members do not get on equal terms.
- Recall and complaints. The rules should let members recall and dismiss, by due democratic process, representatives who abuse their position. Larger co-ops may appoint an independent ombudsman for members' complaints.
- Term limits. The Guidance Notes call maximum term limits good practice. Some codes use three-year terms with a nine-year maximum; the ICA's own board allows up to 18 years.
- Get your co-op's or group's bylaws and the last year's board minutes.
- Fill in the "who decides what" table for your group. Mark any job that two bodies both think they own.
- Write a one-page conflict-of-interest rule: what must be declared, who keeps the register, and when a member steps out of a vote.
- Start a register of interests and a register of gifts and hospitality.
- Make a board skills matrix: list the skills the board needs (finance, marketing, food safety, law, member relations) and score each board member 1 to 3.
- Plan a yearly board self-appraisal with five questions.
- Check that the bylaws say how members can recall a representative, and how long a term is.
- Check: a new board member could read your pack and know what the board decides, what the manager decides and how conflicts are handled.
Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.
Read the video script
[Host] "Voting for a board does not make the board good at its job."
[Text on screen: Members elect. Board steers. Manager runs.] "Members elect and hold to account. The board sets strategy and hires the manager. The manager runs the work."
[Text on screen: Interests register. Gifts register. Board appraisal. Skills audit.] "Write your rules down: a register of interests, a register of gifts, a yearly board appraisal and a skills audit."
[Host] "Report to members in plain words. Trust grows from what they can understand."
Write a governance pack for one co-op or group: the "who decides what" table, a conflict-of-interest rule, a skills matrix and five board self-appraisal questions.
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I'm learning "Agribusiness Leader: finance, co-ops and policy" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Leading a co-op: governance that works". What the lesson teaches: - Before this course: Agribusiness Value Chains (course 2.19.3), and before it Agribusiness: Selling Farm Products, Co-ops & Markets (course 2.19) and Farm Selling Basics (course 2.19.1). You can already map a chain, cost processing, build a food-safety system, read a supply contract and review a co-op's books. This course is about leading: money, rules, risk, sustainability, policy and people. - ICA Guidance Notes. The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) published Guidance Notes to the Co-operative Principles in 2017, written by its Principles Committee. They give practical guidance on applying the principles, and their main audience is future co-op leaders. - Democracy is not enough on its own. The Guidance Notes say that the democratic process does not by itself guarantee competence. Co-ops also need the separation of democratic and executive powers, with checks and balances under the members' control. - Accountability. Elected representatives are accountable to the members. They should give members regular accounts and business reports, presented so that members with no formal financial training can follow them, and they should send meeting agendas in advance. - Rules in the bylaws. The Guidance Notes list governance rules a co-op can put in its bylaws: conflict-of-interest rules for elected members and managers, registers of interests, registers of gifts and hospitality, annual board appraisals and board skills audits. - Conflicts of interest, co-op style. Members both use the co-op and control it, so every board member has some interest in most decisions. The Guidance Notes say a board member should be kept out of a decision only when their personal interest would give them a benefit that other members do not get on equal terms. - Recall and complaints. The rules should let members recall and dismiss, by due democratic process, representatives who abuse their position. Larger co-ops may appoint an independent ombudsman for members' complaints. The exercise I'm working on: Write a governance pack for one co-op or group: the "who decides what" table, a conflict-of-interest rule, a skills matrix and five board self-appraisal questions. I'm stuck. Please: 1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example. 2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step. 3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Leading a co-op: governance that works" from the course "Agribusiness Leader: finance, co-ops and policy". Here's what the lesson says: Before this course: Agribusiness Value Chains: processing, branding and contracts (course 2.19.3). A co-op is like a bus that all the passengers own. The passengers choose the drivers' committee, the committee hires a driver, and the driver drives. Trouble starts when everybody grabs the wheel, or when nobody checks where the bus is going. The activity: Write a governance pack for one co-op or group: the "who decides what" table, a conflict-of-interest rule, a skills matrix and five board self-appraisal questions. Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Sources
- ICA, Guidance Notes to the Co-operative Principles (page): www.ica.coop/en/media/library/research-and-reviews/guidance-notes-coop
- ICA, Guidance Notes to the Co-operative Principles (English PDF): www.ica.coop/sites/default/files/2021-11/ICA%20Guidance%20Notes%20EN.p
Reading the numbers and reporting to members
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Financing an agribusiness and its value chain
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Market and price risk: a written policy, not a gamble
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Sustainability you can prove
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Policy: how rules shape your markets, and how to speak up
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Leading people: teaching members, boards and staff
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Final project
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Quiz
Why does the ICA say democracy alone is not enough to run a co-op well?
Elections do not guarantee competence; co-ops also need separated powers, checks and balances, and good rules.
Name three governance rules a co-op can put in its bylaws.
Any three of: conflict-of-interest rules, register of interests, register of gifts and hospitality, annual board appraisal, board skills audit.
What does the current ratio tell you?
Whether the business has enough current assets to pay the bills due within a year.
A business owes 600,000 and owns 1,500,000. What is its debt-to-asset ratio?
40%.
Fertiliser is 1,000 cash or 1,150 at harvest in six months. What is the hidden cost?
150, or 15% for six months (about 30% a year, simple rate).
What is factoring?
Selling what buyers owe you to a factor at a discount, so you get cash now.
What does a DSCR below 1 mean?
The business cannot make its loan payments from its own cash.
Name the five types of agricultural risk.
Production, price or market, financial, institutional, and human or personal.
What is the trade-off of fixing a price early with a forward contract?
You are protected if prices fall, but you give up the gain if prices rise.
What are SAFA's four dimensions?
Good governance, environmental integrity, economic resilience and social well-being.
Can a business use the FAO logo after doing a SAFA?
No; a SAFA is a self-assessment, not a certification or endorsement.
What should a one-page policy brief include?
The issue, who is affected, evidence, options, your request and a contact.
Final exam
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Certificate
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