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Ukraine Horticulture Development Project: the use of incentives to motivate collective action
01.06.2013
The negative experience of large-scale collective farms during the Soviet period, whose primary function was to benefit the state as opposed to the individual small farmer, remains in the psyche of farmers throughout Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), serving as a disincentive to collaborate. This perspective clashes with a rapidly changing global marketplace, which demands large volumes of high-quality products to meet the needs of consumers. Using the Mennonite Economic Development Associates' (MEDA) Ukraine Horticulture Development Project (UHDP) as a case study, this article demonstrates that, introduced using a culturally sensitive approach and with the right market-based incentives, informal and formal methods of collective action can result in important benefits for small farmers in terms of increased incomes, stronger market position, and strengthened community alliances.