The National Co-operative Farming Advisory Board has recommended the constitution of co-operative farming societies on a voluntary basis. It would appear as though the Board’s recommendations were in line with the Planning Commission’s view that “the contribution of co-operative farming to rural progress will be significant only if it develops as a voluntary mass movement.” That this coincidence of views is more apparent than real, is clear from the manner in which the first seventy pilot projects are sought to be constituted early next year. First, it has suggested the creation of Co-operative Farming Boards by the state governments. Through these Boards, which will actually be mere extensions of the existing co-operative departments, the state governments will exercise control over the co-operative farming societies. Even though the Advisory Board does not say so, the fact that it expects the state governments to participate in the share capital of co-operative farming societies is enough to show that the major decisions of such societies will be made by the state rather than the participants at the grassroots level. Apart from the attractive incentives to co-operative farming societies, will there be any compulsion to make the peasants pool their lands?
An element of discrimination in the recommendations of the Board is that it takes for granted that the marginal cultivators and landless peasants will march voluntarily towards the co-operative millennium, it concedes that “better class farmers” (as opposed to the former) who won’t join the co-operative farming societies, must continue to get all the aid they are presently getting to avoid a fall in production. This is like admitting that there exists a “better class” farmer who is better left alone. Similarly, one can’t spoof the idea of pilot projects; as an experiment they will be worthwhile. But before committing the state governments to that experiment, it would be a good to introduce the three- tier system of Panchayat Raj first. For this kind of decentralization of authority will eventually marshall the opinion of villagers in favour of co-operative movements,providing for genuine local leadership that can’t be inspired by departmental pressures.
22nd Nov, 1960.
