COMMENTARY
Why Cooperatives?
At times, it’s worth reflecting
upon what we in the cooperative
business are really all about. We
work hard in our daily lives in
the fields, in the shops, in the
offices, en route to the next producer
meeting and may not
spend much time thinking about
what all this good effort is about.
We don’t take the time to ask
the basic question, “Why cooperatives?”
But we should.
Cooperatives are all about
people doing good
work to benefit themselves. But
even more basic, it’s people
working with other people to
make themselves better off. It’s
people recognizing that together
they can do more than they can
do by themselves. Call it synergy;
call it teamwork; call it selfhelp.
However you describe it, it
is through the miracle of cooperation
that people can make less
into more. It’s people recognizing
that, for those willing to
share the pie, the pie just keeps
getting bigger.
We cooperate. We work
together. We share common
goals and aspirations. And we
take matters into our own hands
to fulfill those aspirations. Part
of working together cooperatively
is taking responsibility to
do the work. When we cooperate,
we are making a statement
that says: “we want this done
and we are willing to do it.” In
cooperatives, we take the
responsibility and are accountable
to ourselves. And in that
sense, cooperation equates to
freedom.
It’s also about democracy. I
clearly recall a statement made
by Dr.V. Kurien, chairman of
India’s National Development
Board, when he accepted the
Kellogg Food Prize for his leadership
in building the ground-up
system of dairy cooperatives in
his native country. “If you want
to teach democracy,” he said,
“build cooperatives.”
Whether we’re talking about a
group of large farmers investing
millions in a new bio-mass factory;
or a group of small, rural
craftsmen and women banding
together to market their arts; or
small town hospitals seeking
ways to jointly purchase expensive
supplies, the basics of cooperation
remain the same. It’s
those basics that we celebrate,
when we take the time to even
give them thought.
The old cliché that the
“world is changing” is certainly
accurate. And the winds of
change keep blowing with
increasing velocity. Tomorrow
will not look like today and will
never look like yesterday. But
one thing will never change:
People can do great things, and
no problem is too big, when
they work together in the fundamental
spirit of cooperation.
That’s why cooperatives.
James Haskell, Acting Deputy Administrator,
USDA Rural Business-Cooperative
Service
