This book brings together research on cooperative management from the agriculture and food sector. By examining issues from food-policy, trade and environmental perspectives and presenting both methodological and empirical work, it allows readers to develop a deeper understanding of collective management processes and cooperative initiatives, and provides a theoretical background for promoting research in the various sectors in which market communities operate.
On a more global level the offers insights into how to building powerful tools for decision making, particularly at a time when agriculture and the economy alike are affected by a volatile political, social and economical environment and are forced to undergo major structural changes.

Konstadinos Mattas is a Professor of Agricultural Policy at the Department of Agricultural Economics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He has published in more than 100 international refereed journals, in collective volumes and proceedings, and he acts as managing editor of the international scientific journal "Agricultural Economics Review" and is a member of the Editorial Board of several international scientific journals.
George Baourakis is the Director of the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, CIHEAMMAICh since June 2012, and the Studies and Research Coordinator of the Business Economics and Management Department of MAICh since 1989.He has co-ordinated and participated in a large number of EU (FP 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th, INTERREG I, II and III-Archimed, MED, ENPI CBC MED, Tempus, Phare, Life, Lifelong Learning, Leonardo Da Vinci, European Social Fund, etc), international and national-regional research projects. He is an Affiliate Professor in Marketing and Supply Chain Management, at the Centre of Entrepreneurship, Nyenrode University, The Netherlands Business School, while he has been appointed as Distinguished Research Fellow in Food Marketing-Management at several universities. He has published numerous papers in internationally refereed scientific journals, presented extensively at international conferences and authored/co-authored several scientific and academic books and special issues which have been distributed by renowned publishing houses.

Constantin Zopounidis is Professor of Financial Engineering and Operations Research at the Technical University of Crete (Greece), Distinguished Research Professor at Audencia Nantes, School of Management (France), Senior Academician of the Royal Academy of Economics and Financial Sciences of Spain, and President of the Financial Engineering and Banking Society (FEBS). He has edited and authored 70 books with international publishers and more than400 research papers in scientific journals, edited volumes, conference proceedings and encyclopedias, in the areas of finance, accounting, operations research and management science. In recognition of his research work, he has received several awards from international research societies such as the International Society on Multiple Criteria Decision Making, the Decision Sciences Institute, the MOISIL International Foundation, ESCP Europe and the Hellenic Operational Research Society.

Towards a more democratic and sustainable food system the reflexive nature of solidarity purchases groups and the migrants social cooperative Barikamà in Rome.- Role of Buffalo production in Sustainable Development of Rural Regions.- What Does the Young Generation Want to Eat and Do for Being Healthy from the Perspective of Today and the Future?.- Tourist's behaviour towards local Cretan food.- Exploring-valuing alternative distribution channels a systematic literature review of the agri-food sector.- Opportunities of price risk limitation in horticultural sector in Poland.- Willingness to Pay for Malaria Prophylaxis in Ethiopia.- Alternative Distribution Channels of Fruits and Vegetables.- Evaluation of irrigation efficiency effect on groundwater level variation by MODFLOW and WEAP models: a case study from Tuyserkan plain, Hamedan, Iran.