INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
“Together We Prosper - Move on Regardless”
Dr Daman Prakash,
Senior Consultant, IFFCO Foundation
“People in nearly every country around the globe have benefited from cooperatives. They
have done so under all kinds of governments, within every kind of economy, and amid all the
divisions
–
gender,
race,
religion,
politics
and culture – that typify the human condition.” -Graham Melmoth.
Introduction
THE Cooperative Movement is at present world’s largest economic, democratic,
autonomous and vibrant movement. It has survived the pains of two World Wars, economic
depressions of the ‘40s and served humanity in all aspects of life in all countries of the world.
It is a universal movement irrespective of caste, creed and political shades of governance. It
is both a economic and social venture the foundations of which are resting on universallyaccepted Principles of Cooperative and human values and ethos.
The Movement gained its stature, broad recognition, significance and prestige by narrowing
down differences between Masters and Workers, Landlords and Tenants/Landless, Plenty
and Shortages, Wholesome and Adulteration and Fair and unfair practices. Its major pious
objective has been the ‘service’. It aims at narrowing down the difference between ‘haves’
and ‘have-nots’. It is a dynamic movement.
Initiation of Cooperative Ventures
Cooperating together is an ancient concept. People have been, since time immemorial,
getting together to meet their social and economic needs, informally and willingly. However,
as the human needs became apparent, some sort of formal institutions came into existence.
These institutions were completely voluntary and intended to meet the needs of the
members of the community.
Given below are some of the landmarks when the concept of working together got
formalised in specific institutions, called ‘cooperatives’ or ‘societies’ or ‘associations’.
1760 Dockyard Workers of Chatham & Woolwich Started a Flour Mill;
1833 Robert Owen Evolved the Concept of ‘Working Together’;
1844 28 Men of Rochdale showed the Cooperative Way;
1845 Workingmen’s Protection Association Store in Boston;
1848 Zurich Consumer Cooperative;
1848 Hargicourt French Society;
1850 Italian Society at Turin;
1861 Rochdale Cooperative Land & Building Company;
1865 US Law recognising cooperatives;
1895 Birth of ICA in London;
1904 Formal Introduction in India/Asia;
1917 The Cooperative Party-Political arm of the Cooperative Union;
1920 First Health Cooperative in Serbia;
1922 Nada Kobe Consumer Cooperative in Japan;
1940s Great Economic Depression [2 World Wars];
1945 Onward Universal and Fast Proliferation.
Principles of Cooperation
As the formal institutions gathered momentum, members of the community evolved certain
principles according to which these institutions worked. A brief historical development of
these Principles is given below:
[A] The Rochdale Principles-1844 [5 Principles];
[B] Reformulated Cooperative Principles-1937 [7 Principles];
[C] Reformulated Cooperative Principles-1966 [6 Principles];
[D] Cooperative Identity Statement-1995 [7 Principles]
[E] ILO Recommendation No. 123
These Principles were considered as sacred and they had their own sanctity. These were:
-Based on Values and Ethics;
-Accepted Universally Irrespective of Shades of Governance;
-Reformulated with Changing Conditions;
-Balancing Factor – Public/Private Sectors;
-Ensured Longest Surviving Movement;
-Contribute to Human Development.
“They [Principles of Cooperation] are subtly linked; when one is ignored, all are diminished.
Cooperatives should not be judged exclusively on the basis of any one Principle; rather, they
should be evaluated on how well they adhere to the Principles as an entirety.” –Prof Ian
MacPherson
The basic structure of the Cooperative Movement throughout the world is keyed on the
following factors:
-Social & Economic Movement;
-Formal and Informal Structure;
-Democratic, Non-Political;
-Member-Driven;
-Professional Management;
-Leads to Harmony, Social Justice and World Peace.
Based on the Principles of Cooperation and in accordance with the values and ethos the
Movement developed into a world-wide activity. The Cooperative Concept and Philosophy
evolved by the founders has now turned into a large tree under the shade of which many
have been resting and the fruits of which are tasted by many. As the institutions developed,
members started undertaking a variety of business activities. Cooperatives thus became
business enterprises and were considered as balance institutions between the public and
private enterprises.
“Business success is an essential part, but the ultimate objective is to strive for a better,
fairer, more socially-just, gender-balanced, equitable and peaceful world – the Cooperative
Commonwealth.” “Cooperatives are a world-wide phenomenon. Steering a middle course
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between investor and State-owned businesses, they have taken a leading role in rural
development, environmental sustainability, and ethical trading.”
Cooperative Development Initiatives
Some of the instances of successful and pioneering cooperative institutions and initiatives
are summarized as follows:
[A] Europe
-Consumer Retail and Wholesale-CWS-UK;
-Agricultural Credit-Raiffeisen & Schulze-Ditilizh Societies Germany;
-Workers’ Industrial Multifunctional Mondragon Coop of Spain; [Mondragon began its
activities in 1956 in the Basque town of Mondragon by a rural village priest with a
transformative vision who believed in the values of worker collaboration and working hard to
reach for and realise the common good. Today, with approximately 100,000 cooperative
members in over 260 cooperative enterprises present in more than forty countries,
Mondragon Corporation is committed to the creation of greater social wealth through
customer satisfaction, job creation, technological and business development, continuous
improvement, the promotion of education, and respect for the environment. In 2008,
Mondragon Corporation reached annual sales of more than 16 billion Euros with its own
cooperative university, cooperative bank, and cooperative social security mutual and is
ranked as the top Basque business group, the seventh largest in Spain, and the world’s
largest industrial workers’ cooperative.]
-Oliveoil Coops of Spain;
-Grape grower cooperatives of France, Italy and Spain;
-Rebobank of Holland;
-Middelgrunden Wind Turbine Coop-Denmark; [Why it is amazing: Like many other small
wind farms in Denmark, Middelgrunden is cooperatively-owned and has never taken on
debt. Cooperative members own shares corresponding to 1/40,000 of the partnership.
Despite how many shares a person owns, they have just one vote. This cooperative has also
shown that offshore wind installation can operate without incident in popular shipping lanes
and recreational areas. In fact, Middelgrunden has become a bit of a tourist attraction.]
-Insurance; Friesland Milk Coop-Holland;
-Cooperative College of UK; and Many Others
[B] North America
Cooperatively-owned businesses are considered a major player in rural America and as an
important component of the country’s rural development strategy.
-Agriculture cooperatives and wheat pools of USA and Canada;
-Horticulture;
-Sunvalley Potatoes of Idaho of USA;
-Sun Maid Raisin Coop of USA;
-Sunkist Growers’ Coop of USA; [Currently representing about 6,000 members, Sunkist is a
not-for-profit corporation, with all profits from the exchange returned to the grower-members.
Sunkist is the largest marketing cooperative in the world’s fruit and vegetable industry, and is
one of the 10 largest marketing cooperatives in America.]
-Credit Unions of Canada and USA;
-Sysco Corporation of USA; [Mission-Building customer relationships requires time, effort
and sincerity. For Sysco, it began with a promise to assist foodservice operators in providing
consumers with solutions for meals consumed away from home. Since the initial public
offering in 1970, when sales were USD115 million, Sysco has grown to USD 37 billion in
sales for fiscal year 2008. The Corporation has entered into contract with all kinds of fruits
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and vegetable growers – private and cooperative,
-Rural Electric Supply Cooperatives;
-Food Processing; Consumer;
-Chemical Fertiliser; Dairying; and Many Others
to
procure
raw
material.]
[C] Scandinavia
-KF [Konsum and Domus] of Sweden;
-Insurance-Folksam of Sweden;
-Fuel-OK of Sweden;
-Agriculture-LRF of Sweden;
-Dairying, Arla Food of Denmark;
-Housing; Workers’ Cooperatives; and Many Others
[D] Russia
-Consumer/Wholesale and Retail;
-Agriculture; Food Processing;
-Workers’ Cooperatives;
-Health Cooperatives; and Many Others
[E] Asia
-Agriculture [JA System of Japan]; Zen-Noh;
-Consumer Coops of Japan-Nada-Kobe Consumer Cooperative;
-A-Coops; Women’s Associations;
-Forestry Coops of Japan;
-Better Living of Japan and Korea;
-Kibbutz of Israel;
-Agricultural & Rural Credit of India;
-Dairying-AMUL of India;
-Chemical Fertilizer-IFFCO of India;
-Sugar Coops of India;
-Fisheries of Japan, India & Philippines;
-Tea, Coffee and Spices Coops of India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Philippines;
-Consumer-Fair Price of Singapore;
-COMFORT-Coop Taxi of Singapore;
-India – Largest Movement [580,000 cooperatives of all types],
-Highest Milk Production;
-Largest Cooperative Banking System;
-Largest HRD/Member Education Network, and Many Others.
[F] Elsewhere
-Agriculture [wheat/grain pools], Food Processing, Horticulture, Fisheries of Australia and
New Zealand;
-Marine Products;
-Coconut in South Pacific Islands; and Many Others.
Emergence of the ICA
With the initiatives provided by some of the strong European cooperative leaders and
thinkers, a network was developed which could safeguard, improve and strengthen the
Cooperative Movement and insulate it from local or national politics and influence of
governments. This institution was the International Cooperative Alliance [ICA]. The ICA is
the Single Largest Network of World Cooperative Movement with 230 Member-
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Organisations in its fold in over 92 countries. The total individual membership throughout the
world is estimated to be over 850 million. In order to assist the Movements and members,
the ICA has established a global network through its headquarters [in Geneva] and five
regional offices. The ICA is not a trade union nor a confederation, it is a network of all the
Cooperative Movements in the world. The aim of the ICA is to safeguard the Principles of
Cooperation and undertake their reformulation in the context of changing economic and
political environment. It has strong working links with the United Nations and other
international organisations.
ICA’s Global300 Study
In order to explain to the world the strength of the Cooperative Movement a Project entitled
‘Global300’ has been launched by the ICA. Some of the interesting findings of the project are
given below:
The listing responds to those who continue to underestimate the significance of
cooperatives. It provides financial and other data that proves that cooperatives are
successful businesses, important employers, and contribute in real terms to economic
stability and sustainable development.
Because cooperatives and mutuals are member-owned, they are generally not subject to
stock market listing. Global300 will contribute to a better understanding of this neglected part
of the world economy.
The global reach of these hidden giants, and the breadth of their businesses, will surprise
some. Among the businesses are Switzerland’s largest employer, France’s largest bank, a
New Zealand-based business with a third of the international dairy trade, India’s largest food
processing business, the top health-care provider in the Netherlands, North America’s
market leader in canned and bottled juices and juice drinks, and the largest Canadian-owned
multi-product insurer.
The following are some of the major benefits of the Global300 Study:
-
Increasing the profile of cooperatives within their own industries and countries as well
as internationally;
-
Demonstrating to government and other regulatory agencies the economic
importance of cooperatives and mutuals;
-
Modelling good practice and highlighting successful cooperative business models
and innovative approaches;
-
Creating a much improved statistical and data methodology to allow for better
analysis of performance;
-
Creating networks between cooperatives and mutuals within Global300 for greater
sharing of information, business intelligence and business opportunities.
The listing and the data thus generated helps in identifying areas of possible cooperation,
collaboration and technical assistance. The following are some of the significant highlights:
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Total Revenue of over 1 trillion USD;
10th Largest Economy of the World;
14% Growth Rate;
20% of the List are in the United States Alone;
50% of the List in US, France, Germany, Italy;
30% of List in Agriculture and Food Sector;
23% in Retailing; 22% Insurance; 19% in Banking;
20% More Jobs than all MNCs Put Together [100 million jobs];
40% Americans in Coop Membership;
45% Coop Business in Kenya GDP;
66% Swedish Daycare Units by Coops;
90% Retail Business by Swiss Coops;
World’s Largest Cooperative Bank is in France.
The Study has identified the following three broad economic sectors which generate money,
employment and social security:
[01] AGRICULTURE [Represents over one-third of business];
[02] FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS [Insurance, banking, credit unions and diversified financial
organisations. In terms of assets they are the largest. Nearly one-third of insurance
cooperatives and mutuals are based in France and the UK.;
[03] RETAILING & WHOLESALING [It represents the well-known consumer cooperatives in
countries such as the UK, Italy, the Nordic countries and other parts of Europe to Japan and
North America. The other component is the large wholesale buying groups which act on
behalf of the national consumer cooperatives and/or networks of independent retailers.
These are mostly in Germany, France, USA and New Zealand.]
Possible Areas of Cooperation
In view of the experience, business operations and outreach of strong cooperatives several
possible sectors for cooperation, collaboration and technical assistance have been identified.
These are:
-Trade [Fair Trade];
-Technology Transfer [Management and Value-Addition-agro-Processing];
-Technical Cooperation [Institution Building, HRD];
-Professionalisation;
-Energy Conservation & Production;
-Environment, Green Tourism;
-Forestry and Horticulture;
-Better Living and Community Welfare;
-Meeting Challenges of Competition in Open Market Economy;
-Legal Framework;
-Cooperation, Collaboration and Technical Cooperation.
Conclusion
The Cooperative Movement is a world-wide Movement which is independent, based on
sound and well-tried Principles of Cooperation, Values and Ethos and which does not come
into conflict with any form of government or political thought. It is main objective is to ‘serve’.
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It is member-driven effort and the benefits of which are enjoyed by all those who make use
of cooperative institutions. Cooperative Movements in the developing world can make use of
the experience and seek assistance for their development.
“There is but one mode which man can possess in perpetuity all the happiness which his
nature is capable of enjoying – that is by the union and cooperation of all for the benefit of
each.” -Robert Owen
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IntlCoopn NCUI-dp
Nov09,2009
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