The Wulate Potato Association
Traveling to Inner Mongolia in April 2008, Beate Engelen visited an independent farmers’ association.
What is so special about the “Potato Association” in the Inner Mongolian county of Wulate Middle Banner? Farmers in this area usually sell their potatoes to a factory through a middleman who arranges everything related to the business transactions between the farmers and the factory. In the past, this middleman had immense leverage to keep the price of potatoes low: he negotiated with farmers one by one, with the result of farmers in effect outbidding each other.
This changed when the farmers in one village, encouraged by an NGO, decided to form an association which fixes prices for its members. A middleman cannot lower the prices any more at will because farmers cooperate in the negotiating process. Joining there forces, they are strong.
The head of the association is elected by the members. Moreover, farmers in the village are free to join the association or stay out of it. Nobody is forced to be part of it.
Many farmers have joined because they profit greatly in many ways. Above all, the farmers get a better price for their produce. Yet they have opened up in other ways, too, for example they founded a performing arts group where they preserve traditional music and dances. They have made plans to do the food-processing themselves by opening a potato chip factory, thus making more profits.
