ABSTRACT
The social and solidarity economy (SSE) model is an alternative strategy to the neoliberal hegemonic paradigm amid global economic and political uncertainties and its associated decline in living conditions, inequalities and social exclusion. In response to these inadequacies, the study explored how cooperatives in the Assin Fosu Municipality of Ghana promote social inclusion, focusing on farm-based cooperatives. Using a mixed-method approach, quantitative data were collected from 175 randomly sampled members of six farm-based cooperatives and triangulated with qualitative data from the executives of the cooperatives who were constituted into a focus group. Data were described using descriptive statistics and the associations and effects were tested with the chi-square and binary logistic regression tools. We found that cooperatives promote social inclusion by facilitating access to productive and financial resources with members of credit-based cooperatives experiencing high social inclusion. Members with smaller households had more social status because they could engage in more social and economic activities within their communities and groupings. We recommended access to credit and productive resources and long-term birth control measures as these factors are sine qua non for high social inclusion.
