Authors: Theodoros Katerinakis, Christina Karanasiou

Title: An Apple a Day in the Regional Economy: The Socio-Economic Impact of the "ZAGORIN" Cooperative in Zagora Pelion

Abstract

In an ever-changing economic reality due to the emerging challenges in the global economy, the need has arisen for a new model of production. The answer has been provided by the Greek agricultural cooperatives (in various forms) which in the last decades have managed to achieve significant results and support the backbone of the Greek agricultural economy.

The current paper aims to present the functioning of the Agricultural Cooperative Society in the context of the Greek agricultural sector. The aim of this paper is to present the operation of the Zagora Pelion cooperative in the light of its contribution to the development of the Greek economy.

and the challenges it faces in the modern economy. The village of Zagora is an important economic hub of the Pelion region, mainly through the cultivation of the famous Zagorian apple. The producers of the area recognized that a coordinated activity such as that of the cooperative would

would work better than individually. This is because the cooperative focuses on the well-being of all its members in a systematic and fruitful way.

This is the basis for the agricultural cooperative 'Zagorin', which has been active for 100 years and aims to better serve its members development and dissemination of its agricultural products both in the region and in the and the promotion of its agricultural products both in Greece and abroad.

Methodologically, two focus groups were designed and implemented.

The first group concerns members of the administration of the Agricultural Cooperative of Zagora

"Zagorin" and the second consists of citizens-consumers of Volos. The Agricultural Cooperative 'Zagorin' was chosen because of its position in the market but also because of its longevity. The second group was chosen in order to detect the impact that the cooperative has on the citizens-consumers and their perceptions at the level of Thessaly Region.

From the definition of the concept of Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) and the explanation of the characteristics of the cooperative as a SSE project, we are led to the legal framework of agricultural cooperatives in Greece and the presentation of the Agricultural Cooperative of Zagora Pelion. At the research level, the focus group research methodology includes the interaction and emphasizes the feeling of “satisfaction” of the citizens-consumers as well as the feeling of “realization” for the members and the management of the cooperative. The feeling of well-being is important in the perception but also essential in the reflection on the changing economic conditions of European sanctions towards the Russian market and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the first case of focus group, capturing the data collected, we conclude that the members of the cooperative emphasize the concepts of "satisfaction" and "pride" for the contribution of the "Zagorin" Cooperative to meet their expectations but also to become a pillar of development and a key pole of social and economic prosperity not only for the community of Zagora but also for the whole region of Pelion and Thessaly.

On issues related to "longevity/resilience" and the challenges facing the cooperative organization, all members agreed that "collectivity" and "solidarity are key concepts in the "Zagorin" Cooperative playbook. It continues to fight for more than a century proving to be resilient in the modern Greek history of world wars, economic crises, pandemic, etc. At the same time, it highlights the universal prevalence of the cooperative in response to all these challenges by preserving the idea of "cooperativism" together with the mechanisms of "self-supervision" of the members.