PRSP ignored role of cooperative societies

The PRSP 2008, Moving Ahead: National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction 11(NSAPR) has recently been approved. PRSP 11 has set the ambitious target of 26.3% and 27% gross domestic investment out of GDP of fiscal year 2009-2010 and 2010-2011. GDP growth has been projected at the rate of 7% and 7.20% in the PRSP-11 for the coming two years that is higher than the projected 6.2% and 6.20% of the fiscal year 2007-2008 and 2008-2009.
This strategy contains many interventions in almost every sector with resource mobilisation to address the challenges on the way to the attainment of targets as envisaged. Unfortunately, the cooperative sector has not received attention although its impact on economic emancipation is a proven economic intervention.
The cooperative initiative is a century old socio-economic measure to improve the economic standard as well as enrich the quality of life. The contribution of cooperatives to GDP, although not assessed properly, ensures macro-economic stability. Sometimes, certain issues are difficult to quantify or estimate in terms of money or money's worth, but their impact on the society is great.
In the rural Bangladesh, the acceptance level of cooperative initiative has been acclaimed widely because of its approaches to grow hundred flowers together with mutual supporting spirit among farmers and poor people in particular. This value system has been cherished quite for a long time for which the Constitution of Bangladesh under Article 13 b. has emphasized so prominently on cooperative as a system of economic policy.
In the international scenario, as we observe, the United Nations recognises the cooperative movement as an important player in the achievement of fair globalisation. This has turned to be more pertinent in these days of world economic recession while activities of national cooperative societies are felt imperative to attain economic sustainability. The World Summit for Social Development held in Copenhagen in 1995, underscored this importance of cooperatives as a people-centered approach to development.
With the passage of time, the fact established is that cooperatives can play broader role in the area of socio-economic development, particularly, greater role in poverty alleviation. The cooperative movement has emerged as an important part of the "social economy" that operates between the state and the market.
Historical experience indicates that competitive markets alone cannot be relied on absolutely to meet the needs of all people, particularly, the poor. Almost all categories of cooperatives, irrespective of their nature and vision, can help to develop competitive markets and limit the levels of inequalities and social exclusion. This is true for agriculture cooperatives, fisheries cooperatives and consumer cooperatives. Similar situation is applicable for thrift and credit cooperatives, services and housing cooperatives, and also cooperatives in weaving and transport.
Besides, the tension between the market and the social exclusion has tended to grow in this era of rapid globalisation. The national institutions created in the past to manage this tension have weakened or proved inadequate to the new challenges posed by the global markets. The better governance with stronger social agenda can reduce the tension and make the poor comfortable in a market economy. This helps the producers to get the remuneration of their produces and reduce poverty in due course.
Given this idea and context, the experience of Bangladesh indicates that cooperative societies can easily protect the interest of the members, shareholders and safeguard their concerns and anxieties to build up social capital conducive to the enrichment of the human quality of members in general.
In the areas of micro-credit operation, out of 1000 successful societies presently active, around 354 societies distributed so far more than Tk.1600 million creating employment for 30,000 people. With this, the number of beneficiaries as estimated arrived at 2,00,000 from such micro-credit interventions. Similarly, in the case of fisheries and marketing, small and medium scale enterprises, small trade and transport business, the size of investment and numbers of beneficiaries are enormous.
There are about 1,60,035 cooperative societies with 82 lakhs of beneficiaries as members working in the country in different field of economic activities. Out of these societies more than 50% are involved in agriculture. Therefore, cooperative societies can play vital role in increasing the food production and thereby reducing the poverty at the rural level and food autarky through out the nation as a whole.
Above all, none should forget that there are limitations in the individual capitalism, social state ownership that could easily be overcome by the cooperative system of ownership.
For this purpose, cooperative laws and rules should be such that could encourage the genuine cooperators to be members of the society. The cooperative laws should be reformulated in such a manner so that non-cooperators can get the chance to enter with any bad ulterior motive to grab property or make a political problem within the society and thus destroy the spirit of cooperation with politicisation.
Whatever might be the situation, there is no doubt that cooperative societies can make breakthrough in reducing the poverty in a country like Bangladesh. Therefore, the planning process should recognize this vital issue and formulate the policy accordingly.
The Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper should also underline the importance of the cooperative sector and take steps so that cooperative is considered as cross cutting issue for all development activities.

Dhiraj Kumar Nath is a former adviser to caretaker government.