The Reading Circle in the Tomsk Province in the Second Half of the 19th — Early 20th Centuries

The article is devoted to study of the reading circle of various population groups in the Tomsk Province in the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries. The book, as an important attribute of the spiritual realization of society, took a leading place in the system of cultural values of the era, became the most important means of human communication. A great contribution to the development of the cultural life of the Altai district was made by the technical and scientific activities among the poor. The study of book collections of exiles, their activities in opening libraries, which were based on private collections, contribute to the expansion of ideas about the nature and scope of their versatile activities. The end of the 19th — early 20th centuries is characterized in Siberia by the social activity of various segments of the population, an increase in the need of society for a printed word. Thanks to the active work of the «Society for the Promotion of the Construction of Rural Free Libraries», in the Tomsk Province, free rural libraries began to open. They completed their main task in distributing the book in the remote settlements of the Tomsk Province. In Siberia, there is a change in the traditional way of peasants in connection with the heyday of the cooperative movement, the alleged dissemination of the theoretical and practical knowledge. The cooperatives began to organize libraries. The important qualitative changes in reading preferences are gradually taking place: classical literature, specialized books and periodicals are in increasing demand.

Cooperative movement in the agricultural sector: retrospective, modernity, future

The article deals with historical aspects of the cooperative development from primary local forms to national and supranational cooperative structures. The author substantiates differences between cooperative and commercial corporate vertically integrated organizational forms in assigning the final economic result. The main factors of longevity and viability of cooperative forms are identified and substantiated, which include the principles of economic democracy, transparency, and solidarity in cooperatives; the unity of interests of cooperative members as its owners and cooperative services customers; the ability of cooperatives to adapt to rapidly changing external conditions; the impact of cooperatives on price stabilization and food affordability, which characterizes them as both economic and socio-humanistic essence; and solid economic and social connection with communities. The objective conditionality of the state support has been proved for the development of the cooperative movement as a factor in preserving the farming type of economy, promoting the rural population, the development of the rural areas, and strengthening the country’s food sovereignty. The author proves the conformity of cooperative forms of economic activity organization to the principles of sustainable development, which provides them with demand in the future of the agricultural sector. Generalized foreign practice of forming a favorable institutional and legal environment for the cooperative development, their financial support at the formation stage, staffing, and informational and advisory support. The main causes of the slow revival of the cooperative movement in the domestic agricultural sector are explained, and guidelines and ways of their elimination are outlined. Among them, the author identifies as urgent the aligning of domestic cooperative legislation with Western European legal practice and the introduction of long-term state support programs for the development of cooperative movement in Ukraine’s agricultural sector.

Factors that facilitate development of small agricultural cooperative farm alliances

Although cooperative movement in Russia has a pretty long history, achieving its proper functioning failed for a variety of reasons. With new support measures in place, namely, to establish a basic infrastructure - since 2015, to acquire assets and farm equipment, agro-processing equipment - since 2019, cooperatives in Russia geared to promoting small farms are expected to flare up. In this context, this paper reviews key statistical indicators of the current structural changes in agro-industry, as well as the health and contribution of small farms to the agricultural industry in general. This work aimed to identify preconditions for Russian farmers to form cooperatives. This is of the utmost importance since small farms produce nearly half of the country’s total agricultural output, own 37% of arable land, 56% of cattle, and ensure a quarter of employment. Through the research, a range of malpractices affecting the progress of small farms has been identified. They are dearth of modern technology, efficient staff, impossibility to invest in working capital, problems with marketing of produced goods, etc. Creating well-functioning agricultural cooperatives will address the above challenges today’s Russian farmers face.

A Peep into the History and Experiences of the Cooperative Movement in Zambia

This study is a reflection on the history and experiences of cooperative movement in Zambia in three stages (the colonial era, from 1914 to 1963, the post-colonial era from 1964 to 1990 and the cooperative movement in the liberalized economy in Zambia, from 1991 to present). The study used secondary data from various studies. The thrust of this study explored the history and experiences of cooperative movement in Zambia and how the economic and political changes affected the cooperative movement in Zambia. This information is very critical, especially to those who would want to enhance and harness the cooperative movement in Zambia. Emergent from this study is the continued political and econmic influence on cooperatives. Cooperatives were noted to be struggling to cope with the stiff competition, which was due to the liberalization of the economy in the country. The current poor performance by cooperatives was attributed to the failure to swiftly change from the 1964 to 1991 era, where cooperatives were operating as channels for distrusting government resources in a closed economy. Thus, it is recommended among others that, Government should stop the issue of imposing projects on the cooperative communities, business ideas should come from the cooperatives members themselves as a way of entrenching business ownership. In addition, cooperatives societies should start being innovative in order for them to be able stand the stiff competition which is due to the liberalization of the economy.

Reducing the Risk of Co-Optation in Alternative Food Networks: Multi-Stakeholder Cooperatives, Social Capital, and Third Spaces of Cooperation

Farming cooperatives are organisations fundamentally based on social capital. However, the neoliberal and globalisation turn in the food system have led to the economisation of agricultural cooperatives as their main objective and criteria for evaluating their performance, and to a retreat from their participation in the wider cooperative movement. Nevertheless, new models of cooperation may provide a method to divert from this neoliberalisation trend by promoting social capital and mutual learning amongst different actors committed to a transition to sustainable food systems. This paper applies the anthropological concept of third spaces to examine the case of multistakeholder cooperatives. This type of food and farming cooperatives are composed of a diverse membership groups (e.g., producers, consumers, coordinators, buyers, etc). A nuanced analysis of these cooperatives’ capacity to generate social capital, and more specifically to blur the boundaries between bonding, bridging, and linking social capital, is presented. Evidence from five case studies suggests that multistakeholder cooperatives that remain at the border of their game, operating in both real and symbolic third spaces, are more likely to be based on and reproduce different types of social capital as well as social and environmental sustainability, while in turn reducing the risk of co-optation of their transformative practices.