IFAS Community Development: Cooperatives as Tools for Community and Economic Development in Florida: FCS9208/FY728, 1/2005

Abstract

This paper is part of a series of discussions on community development. This series will include specialized papers on civic engagement, community action, and other topics important to the development of community.

The need for alternate community and economic development strategies throughout Florida has been widely recognized. This is particularly relevant in the increasingly fragile climate where the mainstays of rural economies, namely agriculture and tourism, operate. In response to decreasing agricultural opportunities and growth pressure, extension and development agents routinely seek new approaches and opportunities for community and economic development. Cooperatives, producing a variety of goods and services, can help meet this need. This document is FCS 9208, one of a series of the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Publication date: January 2005.