LASSISSI Bob, DBA

After studies in management & management control, Bob LASSISSI is an international consultant. As an associate professor, he also carried out management assignments at the SFR Altice head office for 12 years.

In September 2021, he defended his thesis in Executive Doctorate in Business Administration (EDBA) on the theme “The role of cooperatives for the integration of small producers in a fair trade agrifood sector: the case of cashew nuts in Benin” under the supervision of Professor Jacques Thévenot, professor at ICN Business School et at Business Science Institute.

Pr Jacques Thévenot

The role of cooperatives in the integration of small producers in a fair trade agri-food chain: the case of cashew nuts in Benin

In the international cashew nut sector, production in African countries is close to 55% of world production. But these countries struggle to transform 10% of their gross production, which generates a loss of added value along the value chain of this sector. Indeed, 90% of this African production is exported to Asia (Vietnam, India) which transforms and appropriates the Western market (EU/USA) of cashew kernels. Our thesis deals with the socio-economic situation of small producers and cooperatives in this value chain in Benin. Despite their position in one of the main links in the sector, small producers are unable to make a decent living from their activity.
For their part, cooperatives are struggling to develop, due to a lack of support from producers. However, these two entities must be strong, reliable, and efficient partners in the face of the sustained demands of the international market for supplies to the North. The improvement of the socio-economic situation of small producers and the start of the development of cooperatives seem to us to be essential for a dynamic and a structuring of this sector, which would benefit from recovering part of the exported agricultural added value. In the agricultural sector, the structuring of sectors is vital for a frank participation in the economic development of a country. More specifically, in the export product sectors, this structuring also involves the development of cooperatives. As DURANCE Philippe (2011) stipulates, more solidarity-based cooperative models seem to be a credible alternative to the contemporary classic company. Critics of cooperative organizations focus their criticism on their inability to be, like traditional business, competitive in a globalized environment. The objective of this thesis is to find ways and means to improve the socio-economic situation of small producers in the cashew nut agri-food sector in Benin. From the perspective of a socio-economic improvement of their situation, this thesis proposes the cooperative model for a better positioning in the international market, but also for the development of the new cashew nut sector “fair trade and organic” installed. The latter seems to be one of the solutions so that small producers can, through appropriate cooperative structures, take up the challenges of the international market in a sustainable manner. These challenges go through solutions for a more massive membership of small producers in cooperatives but also through a restructuring of the latter. Finally, the acquisition of skills-resources-logistics of producers through cooperatives is a requirement to better operate in this market. A reform of the authorities for the establishment of market regulation seems necessary to us to optimize the achievement of these objectives.