Question

Which of the following statements are associated with cooperative farming?
A. Lands of all the members(farmers) are pooled and cultivated.
B. The members lose ownership rights of their lands.
C. A major portion of the yield is shared among farmers in proportion to their size of lands.
D. Management of all the activities is under the control of the government.
1. A & C only.
2. B & D only.
3. B, D & C only.
4. A, B & C only.

Answer 1

Hint: Cooperative farming can help farmers benefit from economies of scale by reducing input costs or hiring resources, such as storage and transport, for example. Denmark has become the most popular country for cooperative farming. Gandhi, Nehru, Socialists and Communists accepted that Indian agriculture would be improved by cooperative farming and help the poor.

Complete Answer:
Cooperative farming refers to an association in which each member-farmer independently remains the owner of his land, however joint farming takes place. In the ratio of land owned by them, benefit is distributed among member-farmers. Wages were distributed among the farmers in accordance with the number of days they worked.

In other words, cooperative farming = land pooling and joint agriculture activity. In India, cooperative farming is not a new idea. In wedding, harvesting, etc., Indian farmers have been providing mutual assistance to each other since ancient times. Phad examples in the region of Kolhapur and Gallashi in the area of Andhra.

Below are the advantages of cooperative farming:
- Scale Economies: As the farm size rises, the cost of using tubes per hectare-well, the tractor comes down.
- Small farms: In creating the 'borders' between them, some land is lost. Overall, in economic terms, large farms are more valuable than small farms. Solves the subdivision and fragmentation of holdings problem.
- In order to increase irrigation capacity and land productivity, the cooperative farm has more male-material-money capital.
- Case studies usually point out that per acre production rises with co-operative farming.

The following are the statements given:
- Lands are clustered and cultivated by all the members(farmers). The first argument, therefore, is correct.
- Every member-farmer remains the individual owner of his land. Yet farming is conducted collaboratively. Statement 2 is therefore correct, too.
- In the ratio of land owned by them, benefit is distributed among member-farmers. Thus, Statement 3 is right, too.
- There is no such provision that the government is under the jurisdiction of co-operative farming. Statement 4 is therefore not correct.

Hence option 4 is the right answer.

Note: In the First Five Year Plan (1951-56), it also proposed 'Cooperative Village Management' from Cooperative Farming as a more holistic rural development solution.
- For the landless labourers, cooperative farming societies were founded on Bhoodan land. But later, they began individual farming, although the land still officially remains in the name of communities.
- The National Development Council suggested, during the 2nd Five Year Plan, that agricultural production be increased by 25-35% by cooperative farming in the next five years. But most state governments have shied away from taking the requisite initiatives.