الاثنين، 16 يونيو 2008
السبت، 14 يونيو 2008
the general pattern
The General Pattern
To the outsider the general
It will be helpful to refer to the diagram overleaf
Within the framework of this diagram a long list of activities on behalf of farmers is represented. They can be summarized under four main headings::Technical information and guidance
Farm supplies, processing and sales
Export promotion
Agricultural economy and policy
Export promotion, in the broadest sense, is dealt with through the export boards and committees and the Agricultural Council of Denmark
Economic and political matters affect
ting the industry are dealt with by the farmers' and smallholders' unions, by the Central Co-operative Committee and the Agricultural Council
This allocation gives only a rough idea of the actual situation because the activities of the organisations in the different fields overlap
1n spite of divergent views, mainly concerning land and taxation, the collaboration and co-operation between farmers' unions and smallholders' unions have been good in recent years
Following
The Agricultural Council has therefore again becol11e completely representative of Danish agriculture's major organisations, as seen in the diagram
The two farmers' organisations aTC closely associated in other ways. Their members are largely identical with members of the various co-operative societies and aTC also represented on the export boards and committees
الخميس، 12 يونيو 2008
The basic principles of our organisational structure
Farmer's organisations and the co-operative movement in
Among other things, the community had to make decisions about farming the great common fields on the outskirts of the village to ensure that the individual strip-holders received their due share of what the land produced.
Moreover, the peasant community of the village had to defend itself against injustice, showing firmness and unity in resisting the oppression of manorial lords, the church and the power of kings. In this, as in other aspects of village life, a spirit of fellowship and co-operation developed with the necessary firm rules. This fellowship, deeply embodied in the convemions and customs of centuries, gives us a picture of mutual helpfulness, a sense of moral rights and a solidarity that can often surprise us today.. Indeed, in
several ways we can learn from historical writings about the Danish peasantry of centuries past.
If the co-operative fellowship of old village life is not the actual foundation of the modern agricultural organisations in
character from the personal responsibility that lies in making far-reaching economic decisions.
In this, perhaps, lies the key to the origins of the many co-operative activities to be identified with the agricultural organisations of today.
Many farmers were alive to the importance of co-operation, and, in the course of a relatively few years, towards the end of the 1800's, so many effective co-operative activities started in so many different parts of the country that they inspired increased activity, strengthening what was already in existence and establishing new activities. The Danish Folk High Schools were a stimulating factor in this development. Voluntary foundation, independent of the State was a basic common factor, and nearly all the organisations have been built up 'from the grass roots' on local initiative, later, perhaps, combining with others into provincial and national status.
The essential characteristic is outstandingly democratic. There is no compulsion to join. The various associations and other organisations simply present themselves as an invitation to the individual farmer - and it is an invitation to which nearly every farmer responds. The majority, indeed, are members not merely of one organisation but often belong to several .