ABSTRACT In agricultural policy and programmes, cooperatives have been framed as organizational fix for addressing institutional voids and market imperfections in rural Africa. By way of guaranteeing scale, quality of produce, and professionalism, cooperatives are assumed to be capable to subvert current trading patterns and contribute to sustainable market access for small-scale farmers. However, such change logic does not hold up well with the circumstances of African farmers and traders. We argue that for understanding how a cooperative organizes sustainable market linkages, attention should be paid to its capacity to navigate within its specific context. This article traces the emergence and development of two cooperatives in distinct contexts, Uganda and Mali. We use a critical institutionalist approach, called bricolage, to show how in both cases farmers organize sustainable market access by blending novel arrangements with existing institutions embedded in social and economic relations. We suggest agricultural policy and programmes to shift attention to the ability of a cooperative to embed new institutions in socio-historical shaped local realities rather than requiring them to comply to an ideal-type organization.

中文翻译：

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驾驭动态环境：非洲合作社作为机构的骗子

摘要 在农业政策和计划中，合作社已被视为解决非洲农村地区体制空白和市场缺陷的组织手段。通过保证规模、产品质量和专业精神，合作社被认为有能力颠覆当前的贸易模式，并为小农的可持续市场准入做出贡献。然而，这种变化逻辑并不适合非洲农民和贸易商的情况。我们认为，要了解合作社如何组织可持续的市场联系，应注意其在特定环境中导航的能力。本文追溯了乌干达和马里这两个不同背景下的合作社的出现和发展。我们使用一种批判的制度主义方法，称为拼凑，展示在这两种情况下农民如何通过将新的安排与嵌入社会和经济关系的现有制度相结合来组织可持续的市场准入。我们建议农业政策和计划将注意力转移到合作社在社会历史塑造的当地现实中嵌入新机构的能力，而不是要求他们遵守理想类型的组织。