Is Co-Operation Missing in Co-Operatives? Uralungal Labour Contract Co-Operative Society Ltd. A Viable Alternative - K Gangadharan

Abstract

Is Co-operation Missing in Co-operatives? India is a land of farmers. Farming is main part of Indian economy. Cultivator needs up-to-date information to take Operational, strategic and tactic decisions. These decisions directly influence on the yield and price of the agriculture product grown by the farmer. Traditionally Indian farmers take decisions based on expert judgment or their own experience. Very few farmers’ approaches agriculture offices, APMC offices and Agriculture Universities seeking latest methods and practices of farming with respect to fertiliser management, pesticide scouting management, scheduling of water, preparation of soil, selection of seed and management of weed.Due to lack of easy availability, farmers are isolated from the guidance of agriculture experts and scientists. The DSS can be implemented through Android app, web and SMS to provide the up-to-date agricultural information.Agricultural DSS can help farmers to take right decision at right time for enhancing the crop yield, get best prices to their products. This paper initially reviews various DSS in agricultural field. Considering numerous DSS developed in agriculture, we sought systems for enhancing the yield of the crop. The income of the farmer is not only depending on the yield of the crop, but it is also influenced by the price offered in the market for the grown crop. The price of agriculture product is purely depending upon the demand and supply. Most farmers incurred the losses or got substantial lower income due to unfair price for their product. Due to which many farmers have committed to suicide. The number is increasing every year. Government has framed many policies such as subsidy, agriculture insurance, offering FRP to each crop etc, in order to control suicides. This paper present need of DSS that provide the farmers with up-to-date information of present requirement of each crop in terms of cultivation area and actual cultivated area of each crop till the date. This DSS can help farmers to select appropriate crop to be is cultivated based on demand and potential supply.Finally paper concluded with a conceptual model of DSS to provide up-to-date information of present demand and potential supply of agricultural crop in order to choose the best crop to be grown. The importance and recognition of cooperative business has increased predominantly all over the globe. The underground reality for this phenomenon is the capacity and competence shown by the co-operatives to withstand in a sound edifice during the period of financial crisis and even in the recent demonetisation period. The co-operative enterprises are now treated as the basic alternatives for individual development, societal development and equity in the development of different regions. The model of co-operative enterprise developed by the ULCC in construction field, ICT enabled services, corporate social responsibility, rural development, rehabilitation process, academic intervention, skill and human resources development programme, etc. are unique in nature and it is par excellent than the corporate model done in India and European countries. The present article examines the uniqueness of the ULCC as a co-operative enterprise, its success indicators, the trend and progress as a viable co-operative unit in terms economic indicators and finally the societal commitment, responsibility and extent of justice done to the principle of co-operation as co-operation is missing in most of the co-operatives. In this context, the ULCCS act as a viable alternative fostering all the cardinal principles of co-operation in principle and in practice.