Study on Supervision System of Chinese Specialized Farmers Cooperatives: Experience of the Korean NongHyup

Purpose - The Chinese government's policies and funds enable specialized farmers cooperatives to develop vigorously. However, the non-systematic supervision system affects the interests of farmer-members of these cooperatives, which are similar to the Korean NongHyup in many aspects but differ in their supervision systems such as distribution. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the problems of specialized farmers cooperatives, and obtain some insights from NongHyup. Research design, data, and methodology - Data were collected from farmers, the government, and cooperatives in northern China's Shandong Province (the cities of Jinan, Qingdao, Weifang, Linyi, and Heze) through a literature survey, case analysis, and comparative analysis in each city. Results - 1) Specialized farmers cooperatives should establish a transparent regulatory mechanism and be subject to dual supervision from both the Chinese government and farmers. 2) The Chinese government and civil society should offer more support to the cooperatives, and strive to change farmers' backward attitude through education and training. Conclusions - Small cooperatives could merge into large ones and undertake social responsibility through the establishment of labor unions.