Evaluation of the performance of rangelands management cooperatives through the construction of a synthetic indicator

Abstract

Created since the end of the 80s, pastoral cooperatives of the high plateaus of eastern Morocco constituted an important institutional innovation aimed at managing their pastoral areas. Currently, these structures show progressive and apparent signs of fragility and non-viability. The evaluations of their performance are old and especially fragmentary. Using a multidimensional approach, the study has made it possible to construct a synthetic indicator of performance of these pastoral organizations. Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and ascending hierarchical classification methods were used. The results showed that the first axis (or performance axis) of the MCA restores 70% of the total inertia (variability) and Cronbach's alpha of 0.891 validated the construction and the internal coherence of our aggregated indicator. The main performance indicators as follows: Knowledge of cooperatives' leaders of the regulations in force, dynamism of the members of the board of directors of the cooperative, adherents homogeneity, participation of adherents in the decision-making, assimilation of the cooperative's objectives and holding of archives. In addition, three distinct profiles of pastoral cooperatives on the performance scale were identified: deficient or very low performing cooperatives (24%), intermediate or medium-performing cooperatives (35%), and cooperatives with satisfactory performance (41%).

Keywords: pastoral cooperative, performance, synthetic indicator, multiple correspondence analysis, hierarchical classification, high plateaus of eastern Morocco.