Limitations of Cooperativization

Danial Thorner, the noted economist during his observation of cooperatives between Dec 1958 to May 1959 found many weaknesses in the cooperative movements. He observed two types cooperatives movements. He observed two types cooperatives in case of joint farming.

♤ One was of rich and landowning farmers. They formed such cooperatives to evade land reforms and access incentives offered by the state. These were bogus kind of cooperatives where big farmers enrolled their labourers and ex-tenants as members.

♤ The other, second type of cooperatives was state sponsored cooperative farms where uncultivated lands of the government was made available to the landless labourers and underprivileged groups. These cooperatives didn't live up to their expectations in terms of benefits of scale.

Overall service cooperatives fared better than the farming cooperatives. Nonetheless, there were many shortcomings in service cooperatives.

♤ Service cooperatives reinforced the casted based hierarchical structure.

♤ Leaders of such cooperatives mostly drawn from traders and money lending communities.