Cooperative farming

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Cooperative farmings is a system, in which farmers pool their resources for cooperation in certain areas. The main fields of cooperation are:

Agricultural supply cooperatives - purchase of supplies (seeds, fertilizers, etc.) and services,
Agricultural marketing cooperative - transformation, packaging, distribution and marketing of produce.

It is sometimes referred to as agricultural cooperation, although the latter term may have a non-specialized meaning of "cooperation in the area of agriculture."

The term should be distinguished from collective farming, in which farmers pool nearly all reasources, including labor, land, or produce itself. At the same time some economists consider collective farming as a special, although extreme, case of cooperative farming.

Origins

The first farmers' cooperatives were created in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century. They spread later to North America and the other continents. They have become one of the tools of agricultural development in emerging countries.

Also related are farmer's cooperative banks (and mutual farm insurance societies). They were created in the same periods, with the initial purpose to offer farm loans. Some became universal banks such as Crédit Agricole or Rabobank.

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