Unlocking potential: Evaluating Nepal's cooperative-backed vegetable value chain.

Cooperatives play a vital role in rural and agricultural development within value chains. They employ 279 million worldwide, and the top 300 earned $2.1 trillion in 2019, ranking as the 10th largest economy if considered a country. The study examines the current state of the vegetable value chain, the involvement of cooperatives, factors influencing value addition, and the challenges cooperatives encounter within the vegetable value chain. The research utilized structured questionnaires to gather data from 183 participants, comprising 164 farmers, 10 traders, and 9 cooperative members in Nepal's Siraha and Saptari districts. The collected data underwent analysis using a binary logistic regression model. The study found that there is no proper vertical and horizontal linkage among the chain actors. Cooperatives are good at facilitating access to credit, input, and training but their involvement in both input supply and credit services is limited. Among the 31 variables included in the logistic regression, 14 were deemed statistically significant. Particularly, the age of farmers, their off-farm income, access to information, and access to inputs could be instrumental to value addition in the VVC. The study suggests that early-stage co-innovative and collaborative value chains, with better input supply, business planning, and cooperative autonomy, can boost VVC profitability and sustainability. Partnerships and a standard code of conduct among chain actors and cooperatives can further enhance trust and innovation.