Co-operatives and Private Farmers in Reorganization of Agriculture in the Chuvash Republic, Russia

TOPIC 6-STAGE 5-Meso Russian production co-operatives and private farmers are often put on opposing positions in discussing the reorganization of agriculture among policy makers and social scientists. Production co-operatives... [ view full abstract ]

TOPIC 6-STAGE 5-Meso
Russian production co-operatives and private farmers are often put on opposing positions in discussing the reorganization of agriculture among policy makers and social scientists. Production co-operatives are generally regarded to be more conservative, so far as they take over many parts of structure from the former collective farms. Private farmers, on the contrary, are associated with more independent and entrepreneurial decision making.

In practice, however, both agents are engaged in management in the same condition of the ever changing situation of world economy, and have many points in common. This presentation will show some comparative analysis between production co-operatives and private farmers in the Chuvash Republic, which is located in the Middle Volga region, one of the typical areas of agricultural production in Russia.

Comparative analysis between co-operatives and private farmers shows that many are observed in common between them; making good use of one’s capital, assembling lands, tools funds and work force, following administrative rules; application of technical knowledge, which is produced and reproduced in academic sphere; construction of various kind of network from family-tie to contractive one. These common points will lead the conclusion that there should be found not so much the difference between co-operatives and private farmers as similarity in common entrepreneurship of managers.