Discuss important features of cooperatives and its functioning in rural areas.

 Concept of Co-operatives 

The International Co-operative Alliance, at its Manchester Congress in September, 1995, adopted a Statement of Co-operative Identity. The statement included a definition of co-operatives, the attached values and a set of principles intended to guide cooperative organisations. The definition and values attached with the co-operatives are as following - 

Definition

A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. It is based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In the tradition of their lout, co-operative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility, and caring for others.

Basic Principles of Co-operatives 

The principles of co-operative are guidelines by which co-operatives put their values into practice. Major principles are as following: 

1) Voluntary and Open Membership - Co-operatives are voluntary organisations, open to all persons, able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, political, or religious discrimination. 

2) Democratic Control - Co-operatives are democratic organisations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting their policies and decisions making. Men and Women serving as elected representatives are accountable to the members. In primary co-operatives members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote). 

3) Economic Participation - Members contribute equitably to control, the capital of their co-operative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the co-operative. Members usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership. 

4) Autonomy and Independence-Co-operatives are autonomous, self-help organisations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organisations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their co-operative autonomy. 

5) Education, Training and Information- Co-operatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers, and employees so that they can contribute effectively in the development of their co-operatives. They inform the general public - particularly young people and opinion leaders - about the nature and benefits of co-operation. 

6) Co-operation among Co-operatives - Co-operatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the co-operative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international levels. 

7) Concern for Community - Co-operative works for the sustainable development of the communities through polices approved by its members.

Some Important Co-operatives of Rural Areas 

Cooperatives generally function in four major areas which are contributing in the process of development of rural areas. These four major areas are as following: 

i) Credit Co-operative

It was to free the rural poor from the clutches of exploiters money lenders, landlords, shopkeepers etc. and help them through co-operative credit system. Co-operative Credit structure has three tier system. Primary Agricultural Credit Societies constitute the base. The District Co-operative Bank is the apex co-operative institution and is responsible for the formulation, execution and coordination of credit policies in the State. A major development in the field of agricultural credit was the setting up of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in 1982 as an apex national institution. 

ii) Marketing Co-operative

Marketing co-operatives provide assistance to growers in marketing their products. Its development has been very uneven among different States. The structure of marketing societies consists of at national level National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation (NAFED). at State level State Marketing Federation (SMF), at the district or regional level Central Marketing Societies (CMS) and Primary Marketing Societies (PMS) at the secondary markets or wholesale assembling centers. 

iii) Processing Co-operatives

Processing co-operatives have provided some of the most dramatic results, most specifically in the dairy co-operatives of Gujarat and the co-operative sugar factories in Maharashtra. Dairy Co-operative which exhibits the most successful story of co-operative in India is the Milk Producers Co-operative at Anand in Gujarat. Here the milk producers established a two tier system. At village level, they formed a milk producers co-operative society. All such societies together formed the district level organisation called Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers Union. The producers supplied their milk to the village society. The union collects milk from all such societies and transports it to Anand town where its processing plant is located. It provides fair price to producers thus saves them from the exploitations by the traders and middlemen. The Union on the other hand also provides various services and inputs at a reasonable cost to the producer members, to enhance the productivity of their cattle.

Impressed by the great success of Anand pattern co-operatives. Government of India set up the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in 1965 under the chairmanship of Dr. V. Kurien. The real impetus to replicate it came in 1970 with the bunching of Dairy Development Programme known as Operation Rood. Sugar Cooperatives - The cane-growers in Ahmednagar district in western Maharashtra were able to establish the first successful co-operative sugar factory in 1951 at Pravaranagar which became a model for similar venture later. These sugar co-operatives are essentially processing and marketing organisations. Cane-growers in a given area (50 to 100 villages) form a cooperative. The members cultivate sugarcane on their own lands. The vast majority of shareholders in these factories hold three shares or less, equivalent to maximum of 1.5 acres of annual cane-production by the shareholder. It has benefited small farmers from the complex of services which the factories provide. The large tamers earned larger total incomes by supplying cane to the co-operative factories. At management level they dominate the elected board of directors.

iv) Co-operative Farming 

In 1959 the government recommended widespread encouragement of co-operative joint fanning. It was envisaged that all surplus land beyond ceiling limits would be pooled for co-operative fanning and the farmers could be convinced about the benefits of such farming through the Community Development Programme and the Panchayati Raj institutions. It was argued that the co-operative joint farming in India would be economically more feasible in terms of agricultural inputs. operation of holdings and marketing of produce etc. However, co-operative farming in India was a dismal failure. 

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