A Qualitative Assessment of Resilience in Agricultural Marketing Cooperatives

Abstract Agricultural marketing cooperatives are vital to agricultural systems, yet their resilience remains understudied. This research applies and extends the resilience assessment framework for farm systems to these cooperatives, examining robustness, adaptability, transformability, and anticipation. Using a qualitative approach, we conducted in-depth interviews with 18 German cooperative decision-makers from December 2023 to February 2024. Our study employs thematic analysis and deductive category formation to investigate the framework's applicability, derive insights into resilience capacities and strategies, and examine how cooperative values foster resilience. Results show the adapted framework effectively captures unique cooperative aspects. These organizations perceive themselves as robust and diversified, anticipating maintained resilience due to their adaptability in business fields and functions. While overall resilience is perceived as high, individual capacities vary, with robustness scoring highest and anticipatory capacity lowest. Cooperative values contribute to resilience, especially during crises, but face modern challenges. This first systematic qualitative resilience assessment of agricultural marketing cooperatives contributes to more stable and sustainable food systems.