Empowering women through agricultural cooperatives: a multilevel analysis in Morocco’s Marrakech-Safi region

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of female agricultural cooperatives on women’s empowerment in Morocco, with a focus on the rural Marrakech-Safi region. The research evaluates the effectiveness of these cooperatives in enhancing women’s empowerment through economic opportunities, participatory governance, and leadership roles. The Global Empowerment Index (GEI) was adopted to measure empowerment across five key dimensions: personal decision-making, economic decision-making, household decision-making, freedom of mobility, and participation in community activities. A multilevel analysis was performed using data from 225 cooperative members, selected through a combination of convenience and purposive sampling. The findings reveal that cooperatives fostering leadership roles, economic opportunities, and participatory governance significantly enhance women’s autonomy and control over resources. However, persistent challenges such as limited market access and insufficient resources continue to hinder the full potential of these cooperatives. By examining the interplay between cooperative models and regional factors, this research offers actionable recommendations. These include improving access to training programs tailored to women in cooperatives, establishing mentorship initiatives to foster long-term empowerment and skill development, expanding targeted microcredit, investing in sustainable infrastructure, and promoting digital integration for direct market access. Nevertheless, the study’s regional scope and reliance on cross-sectional data represent limitations, underscoring the need for future research to explore diverse contexts and longitudinal perspectives.