Issues of employment and income of rural residents of the Republic of Kazakhstan: the role of cooperation

Abstract

One of the priority directions for the development of agro-industrial complex of Kazakhstan is solving the small-scale nature of agricultural production by combining small farms into agricultural cooperatives and creating infrastructure in the system of promoting products from producer to consumer. However, the benefits of cooperative principles and potential reserves have not yet been fully realized; their role and importance in the socio-economic development of the country is underestimated. The goal is to analyze the current state of agricultural cooperatives in the republic and scientifically substantiate the mechanism of influence on the quality of life of the rural population. Methods – economic-statistical, abstract-logical, comparative analysis, systematization. Results – an analysis of the expansion of the sphere of cooperation in dynamics for 2018-2022 and state programs on development of rural settlements was carried out. Their role in regulating economic, social, demographic problems and improving the well-being of villagers is shown. The main unfavorable factors hindering the cooperation process are considered: weak degree of financial control over compliance with its requirements, the absence of collateral or its illiquidity. Conclusions – рeasant (private) farms and personal subsidiary plots play a decisive role in supplying rural residents with food. Agricultural cooperation helps improve the economic conditions of agricultural producers, promotes the efficient and rational use of industry resources, provides material and technical assistance to farmers, manages risks, and provides an opportunity to enter international markets with an increase in export volumes. However, the criteria that determine the incentives for participation in the cooperative movement from the position of its potential participants, which include the population of rural areas as subjects of the regional labor market, have not been sufficiently studied: these are, first of all, the level and sources of income, the availability of livestock, and family composition. The tasks of the active state policy aimed at strengthening agriculture and the processing industry are not feasible without new integration formations.