Co‐operatives and rural development

The role of co‐operatives in rural development depends largely on the aims of such development and on how co‐operatives are defined and structured. It is argued that successful co‐operatives at grassroots level need to be small‐scale, democratically organized by the people themselves, and aimed at providing for the benefit of as many households as possible. The objective of rural development should be to provide a livelihood for people through small‐scale production. The chances of success in this regard are slim given the constraints (such as land shortage) resulting from the policy of separate development.