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FCM International Partnership Beaumont – Koh Thom COOPERATIVES
FCM International Partnership
Beaumont – Koh ThomCOOPERATIVES
A COOPERATIVE IS A FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION
It has:
a corporate board of directors,a profit motivation,a service orientation,
A cooperative is a user-owned and user-controlled corporate business in which benefits are received in proportion to use.
User-Owner Principle:
• The people who own and finance the cooperative are those who use it.
• The people who use the cooperative are those who control the cooperative.
• The cooperative’s sole purpose is to provide and distribute benefits to members on the basis of their use.
• It is a fair way for producers to go into business together
• It is a locally owned and controlled corporation
• Its business purpose depends on its members
History of Cooperatives
• The first modern cooperative was founded in Rochdale, England in 1844.
• Canada's first co-operative businesses were mutual insurance companies, which were established by farmers in what is now Quebec and Ontario as early as the 1830s.
• Between 1860 and 1900, dairy farmers in Quebec, Ontario and Atlantic Canada developed over 1,200 co-operative creameries and cheese factories to process their products.
• In the early 1900s, prairie grain farmers created co-operatives to sell their grain directly to millers and exporters. Other farm groups, such as fruit growers and livestock producers, also organized co-operatives in the years before the First World War.
• In the early 20th century, people worked together to create retail cooperatives in many towns in the four western Canadian provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia).
• In the 1930s, the movement continued to expand to include the creation of credit unions, fishing and housing co-operatives, and co-operative stores
Cooperatives in the Global Economy
• Worldwide more than 1 billion people are members of cooperatives.
• Cooperatives provide 100 million jobs worldwide, 20% more than multinational enterprises.
• In India and China combined, more than 400 million people are part of cooperatives.
• In Germany and the United States, one in four people are cooperative members while in Canada that number is four in 10!
• Canadian maple sugar cooperatives produce 35% of the world's maple sugar production.
• In Vietnam, cooperatives contribute 8.6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
7 Cooperative Principles
• Voluntary and Open Membership
• Democratic Member Control
• Members' Economic Participation
• Autonomy and Independence
• Education, Training and Information
• Cooperation among Cooperatives
• Concern for Community
• Foundation of Cooperatives
– Voluntary / open to everyone– Democratic power to the members– Economic participation of members– Autonomy and independence– Education, training and information– Cooperation between cooperatives– Community engagement
Cooperative Information
• Cooperatives– examples– Agriculture– Arts and culture– Retail– Environment– Finance– Leisure and tourism– Child care– Research
Cooperative Examples
Cooperative Information
• Cooperative Model in Canada
– Exist in different sectors• Financial• Construction• Electricity
– Owned by it’s Members– Members have common needs– Democratic: 1 Member / 1 vote– Members share advantages
• Importance of cooperatives in Canada
– 10 000 cooperative businesses– 160 000 jobs– 167 Billion in assets– 15 Million members
Cooperative Information
Types of Cooperatives
• Producer-owned cooperativesare owned by farmers, producers or small businesses.
• Consumer-owned cooperativesenable consumers to secure a wide array of goods and
services.
• Worker-owned cooperativesare businesses owned and controlled by their
employees.
What Cooperatives Do
• Production – produce commodities
• Purchasing – buy and sell inputs
• Marketing – buy and sell commodities
• Service - Banking
What Cooperatives Do
• Production – produce commodities
• Purchasing – buy and sell inputs
• Marketing – buy and sell commodities
• Service - Banking
Production Cooperatives
Production cooperatives are sharing resources to produce a commodity for sale.
•feeding cattle•grazing •agricultural machinery, •animal reproduction, •forestry •handicraft
There are 603 production cooperatives in Canada
What Cooperatives Do
• Production – produce commodities
• Purchasing – buy and sell inputs
• Marketing – buy and sell commodities
• Service - Banking
Purchasing Cooperatives
•Purchase supplies– operate farm supply store (retail)
South Country Co-opUFA
– joint purchasing programs (wholesale)Federated Co-operative
Purchasing Cooperatives
• Allow those buying the goods to receive benefit from sales as profits are shared with all the members.
• The more you support and buy goods from the cooperative, the more return you receive.
• Retail co-ops can sell many different things and are particularly strong in the farm input sales giving producers better prices and more access.
Cooperatives - Retail
Sell many different things
Food lumber petroleum
Tires hardware and tools agricultural inputs
Agricultural Co-ops
• farm inputs including fertilizers and chemicals, animal feed, seed, building materials and petroleum products.
• The 216 supply co-operatives have nearly $5 billion of
all farm supply market share.
What Cooperatives Do
• Production – produce commodities
• Purchasing – buy and sell inputs
• Marketing – buy and sell commodities
• Service - Banking
Marketing Cooperatives
• Market products– acquire and sell commodities
Gay Lea Foods in dairyExceldor in poultry slaughtering and
processingGrain marketing
– bargain for price, terms of sale– 151 marketing cooperatives in
Canada
Agricultural Marketing Cooperatives
• processing and marketing – grains and oilseed, – dairy products, – poultry, – fruits, – vegetables, – livestock, – honey – maple products.
What Cooperatives Do
• Production – produce commodities
• Purchasing – buy and sell inputs
• Marketing – buy and sell commodities
• Service - Banking
Service Cooperatives
• Largest number of cooperatives are in this area• Provide needed member services
Banking – Credit UnionsWater supplyInsuranceHousingDay cares and nurseriesHealth careFuneral servicesManagement of facilities
Key Organizations
•International Cooperative Alliance (ICA)The International Cooperative Alliance is an independent, non-governmental organisation which unites, represents and serves cooperatives around the world. http://www.ica.coop/al-ica/
•World Council of Credit UnionsWOCCU is the global trade association and development agency for credit unions. http://www.woccu.org/
• Advantages of Cooperatives
– Economic and social growth in communities– Creates more employment opportunities– Possibility to change something that’s not working– Better access to products and services– Strong customer loyalty– Access to new markets– Bring solutions to problems
Cooperative Information
• Process of Cooperatives
– Mobilize people around one project / need– Share information and promote the movement– Support to start of new cooperatives– Work with the community
Cooperative Information
Steps to Organize
• Determine what groups would benefit the most from a co-op in your area.
• Hold exploratory meeting with potential members
• Analyze the market• Evaluate the feasibility – discussion with
other organizations who have experience in such organizations.
• Prepare a business plan• Implement the business plan
Questions / Comments
