COOPERATIVE INSTITUTIONS: THE WIDE AND THE NARROW1

An important problem confronting agriculture is institutional adaptation to the needs and changes of yesterday, today and tomorrow. This paper looks at some challenges facing a familiar institution to agriculture — the cooperative. While other problem areas often considered distant to agriculture are focused on, it is apparent that there is much interdependence between rural and urban problems and institutional change in helping bring about solutions. With present urban problems and their likelihood of persisting for some time, the encouragement of farm people to become city dwellers may need to be more seriously appraised. Similarly there is a need for better understanding of the role of institutions, their jobs, and the socio-economic impact of alternate means in achieving them before real progress can be broadly achieved.