Good Co‐operative Governance: The Elephant in the Room With Rural Poverty Reduction

This article argues that good governance is a key component of the co‐operative contribution to poverty reduction. It reports on fieldwork findings in Kenya, which compares a co‐operative with strong governance processes with one facing a number of governance challenges. It concludes that good governance allows processes (or activities) within co‐operatives to be undertaken more effectively, impacting poverty outcomes at the village level. This has important policy implications, particularly for the way in which governments and development agencies work with co‐operatives.