Dr. Muhammad Maht Hossain Mazed

53rd National Cooperative Day 2024 is today.The co-operatives are engaged in development and socio-economic work by working hard in the markets, fields and ghats throughout the year and gather for 2 days in a year. One: International Cooperative Day (1st week of July) Second: National Cooperative Day (1st Saturday of November) The day is celebrated. The theme of this day is "Garb country, non-discriminatory Bangladesh, the official journey of cooperatives in Bangladesh began in 1904, one hundred and twenty years agoAt present there are about 1 lakh 92 thousand 692 cooperative societies in the country

A cooperative is a voluntary self-governing organization of like-minded people, which works for their own socio-economic development. To this end democratically controlled business is conducted on the basis of partners. A co-operative may also be one in which the business is controlled equally by all its beneficiaries or they themselves work in the enterprise. The aim of cooperatives is to bring about socio-economic emancipation through joint efforts by mobilizing small savings and energy.

Cooperatives can play a powerful role in organizing the village people and their economic development. If the small capital of marginalized people can be collected and used for their economic emancipation, the face of rural economy will change radically. As a result of the development of the communication system, the opportunity to strengthen the rural economy has also been created in our country. We have to take that opportunity now through cooperatives. And over a long period of time, the cooperative movement has spread to various sectors of the economy. Cooperative Societies are operating in various fields including agriculture and consumer goods production and marketing, fisheries, beekeeping, dairy production, processing and marketing, textile industry, handicrafts, dying industry, leather industry, vehicles, housing, beekeeping. The co-operatives are now exporting their products beyond the borders of the country. Currently, the number of these associations organized in various sectors of the country's economy is about two and a quarter lakh. More than one crore people of the country took membership of these societies and strengthened the cooperative movement. The cooperative movement is playing an active role in the socio-economic development of a large population of the country.

> What is a cooperative?
The International Co-operative Alliance defines a Co-operative in their Co-operative Introduction Guide thus, Co-operative is a self-governing voluntary organization of like-minded people working for their own socio-economic development. To this end democratically controlled business is run on a partnership basis.

> What is a cooperative economy? A cooperative may also be one where the business is controlled equally by all its beneficiaries or they work in the organization. The stream of education that teaches cooperative business is known as 'cooperative economics'.

> History of Co-operative Societies:- Almost as old as the history of human civilization. The present organizational form of co-operative society was established shortly before the industrial revolution in Europe. The first Fenwick Weavers' Society was formed in 1761 to provide loans, education and immigration to local weavers. Later, more than a thousand co-operatives started functioning in England alone. Objectives Co-operatives aim to bring about socio-economic emancipation through joint efforts by mobilizing small savings and energy.

> Why Cooperative? Cooperative is not just an economic activity. The motto of cooperatives is 'Sakler tere sakke we each we are next tere'. Cooperative Organizations or Associations Cooperative organizations create employment opportunities for the poor people of the country by pooling small savings and energy.

> Cooperative Principles A cooperative organization in Bangladesh generally follows 7 principles:1. Voluntary and unrestricted membership2. Democratic participation of members3. Financial participation of members4. Autonomy and independence5. Education, training and information6. Inter-cooperative cooperation7. Social commitment.

> Legal basis
In 2001, Cooperative Act was promulgated for the first time in Bengal. In 2002, the Cooperatives Act, 2001 (Amendment Act 2002) was issued amending certain sections of the Cooperatives Act 2001. The Cooperative Societies Act 2001 and the amended Act 2002 were promulgated in 2004 in support of the Cooperative Societies Rules 2004. To create a poverty-free, self-reliant Bangladesh, the Cooperative Policy of 1989 was updated and 'National Cooperative Policy-2012' was formulated to encourage cooperative initiatives and guide the people-oriented cooperative movement. In 2013, the Cooperatives Act was further amended by the Amended Cooperatives Act, 2013.

> Functions 1. Encouraging and providing registration in cooperative policy. 2. Establishing good governance through cooperative audit, inspection and supervision. 3. To increase professional standards by creating opportunities for training or higher training of the officers and employees of the Cooperative Directorate. 4. Capacity building through practical training of cooperative members and poverty alleviation through capital generation and self-employment. 5. Promotion of cooperative values, publications, organizing seminars and workshops to strengthen cooperative networking. 6. Creation of capital through capital formation and investment and development of cooperative based business institutions. 7. Empowerment and socio-economic development of rural women through cooperative based projects and programs. 8. Establishing cooperative product branding and market linkages. 9. To formulate and implement policies, development programs and development projects necessary to achieve the objectives.

The officials of the Union Parishad have the right to receive various information and advisory services from the Union Parishad regarding the formation of cooperative societies. The Union Parishad performs the responsibilities related to cooperatives for village development.

> Social Development :-

Cooperatives not only focus on economic development but also participate in social movements. Adopts various plans and programs for the development of education and culture of the society. Co-operative societies contribute to social development by participating in various welfare activities such as construction of roads, relief and rehabilitation, settlement of housing problems, etc.

Besides, cooperative societies play an important role in the social development by participating in various individual and collective welfare activities such as skill development and leadership development of the people of the country, elimination of illiteracy, creation of credit opportunities, development of human qualities etc.

Finally, I want to say that the economy of Bangladesh is dependent on agriculture. A co-operative society is a social welfare and developmental socio-economic institution, which involves democracy, collective action, mass production activities and attempts to improve the economic condition of members. The capital, risk and collective talent required for modern agriculture require grassroots agricultural cooperatives. There is no alternative to agricultural cooperatives to ensure food security and eradicate human poverty.

With proper policies, transparent management and overall cooperation, agricultural cooperatives can play a pivotal role in food security. Cooperatives are one of the best methods for poverty alleviation, disaster management, environmental disaster prevention and food security. This requires establishing co-operatives for the country and oneself through collective efforts. It is everyone's responsibility to carry forward the cooperative movement and spread the cooperative movement in Bangladesh.

Author, organizer, columnist and researcher Founder and Chairman, Jatiya Rogi Kallyan Society