Social Capital and Rural Producer Organisations

Low participation and lacking sense of ownership by members in Rural Producer Organisations creates major problems for the operation and sustainability of these organisations. The concept of social capital, with its emphasis on networks,trust and norms, has received more attention the last two decades because of its perceived effects on the sustainability of development projects. The focus on social capital in communities is also in line with another contemporary concept in development strategies namely participatory development from bellow. Through the exploration of the different forms of social capital and the effects on interaction among people I argue in this book that social capital is crucial to understand when initiating support for local organisations. When aid is given mainly as investments in physical capital and production-related training then this aid can create dependence and undermine self-organisation and the development of networks between people. This analysis should be useful for development practitioners, researchers, governments, and members of Producer Organisations.