The Role of Development of Farmers' Cooperatives

Abstract

This abstract is a summary of scientific review of the present paper. As new circumstances have been created after the last war in Kosovo, it is of high importance and urgency to create and build a new mentality for the development of Farmers' Cooperatives (FC). The Farmers' Cooperatives have played an important role in the past and they continue to act so, both nationwide and globally. The practice for organization of farmers in their cooperatives of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) has enabled the creation of a membership of more than 800 million farmers who employ more than 100 million people. Their participation in the supply of the market reaches 33 percent of the total world production. Farmers' cooperatives are organizations in which farmers retain private ownership of the land. The profit from the cooperatives is of a considerable variety and the practice of such organization has shown its positive effects through strengthening of the farmers and raising their profit, facing the market and creation of a positive business. This is based on the opinion of a number if scientists of this field. They divide the farmer' profit in direct and indirect type. As far as Kosovo is concerned, the development of farmers' cooperatives is delayed although the necessary legislation (the Law on Cooperatives) is applied. On that basis the conditions for strengthening the role of the farmers is of high urgency. This paper consists of two parts: In the first part the respective legislation of Kosovo in relation to the role of farmers' cooperatives is going to be presented. The second part presents the conditions for establishment, rights, duties and statics of the farmers' cooperatives. In this paper is analysed the role of development of farmers' cooperatives in general. At the end, a summary of the above will be presented in analytical form, including recommendations and conclusions.