"Cooperatives are not an option, but an obligation"

PANKOBIRLIK President Recep Konuk stated that the word cooperative means cooperation in the message he published on the occasion of 'International Cooperatives Day', and he added that ‘Cooperatives are not an option, but an obligation.’

PANKOBIRLIK President Recep Konuk uttered that ‘Today is International Cooperatives Day, the day of those who come together under the roof of cooperatives. I congratulate this day with the hope that it will enable more people to cooperate, produce more, consume more cheaply, develop their creativity more in culture and art, be active in the economy, socio-economic life, cultural activities, and increase their welfare by acting together. Considering the agricultural organization of our country and the share and economic power that the farmer can get from the economy, agricultural cooperatives, which are shown as the greatest invention of the agricultural economy, are an invention that we need to cling more tightly to agricultural production, marketing and agricultural financing. The answer to the question of why in this regard is clear. The average land size of our more than 3 million agricultural enterprises is 61 decares. The land size of approximately 2 million farmer families is less than 50 decares. Average size of land is 521 decares per farmer in France, which we compete, 249 decares in the Netherlands, 457 decares in Germany, and 538 decares in England. Likewise, in our country, which has 2 million 145 thousand barns and farms, the number of cattle in approximately 1.3 million barns is between 1 and 4. Considering both the number of animals and the size of the land, the one by one production does not present a view that is suitable for the producer in our country to earn while buying or selling. The solution to these weaknesses is in that invention. When we look at our country in particular, cooperatives are not an option but an obligation to solve the problems specific to our country, such as planned production, meeting the need for renewal in the sector (technological renewal, capital accumulation, etc.), fair distribution of the added value created over the product, narrowing the field and market scissor gap.’