Local agricultural cooperatives are considered the cornerstone associations on
which the cooperative sector is relying on. Hence, reforming the cooperative sector
starts from the local cooperatives as they are the members of the central cooperatives.
The total number of local agricultural cooperatives in Fayoum Governorate is is 167
representing 52.5% of the total number of firms that sell agricultural production
inputs. They have about 166,000 members, 1,000 board members and 974 extension
agents. They serve about 454,600 feddans with an average holding of 2.75 feddans.
each cooperative association has 8 employees; 6 of them are extension agents.
According to what have been mentioned above it's obvious how big the
agricultural cooperative sector in fayoum is. This makes it very important to highlight
the main problem challenging the sector. A questionnaire has been designed for that
purpose and collected throughout a number of interviews with that sector leaders in
Fayoum.
69% of interviewees have reported that financing, small holdings,
construction on the arable lands and shortage of irrigation water are the most
important constraints. As for marketing, structural, managerial and legal problems;
45%, 10%, 26% and 5% of the interviewees have reported they exist respectively.
As for the suggestions by interviewees; they suggested helping growers to
market their agricultural crops, offer production inputs, stop construction on the
arable lands, finance agricultural activities, improve the extension system, facilitat
machinery services, increase irrigation water supply, going back to apply the
agricultural rotation, solving the small holdings problems and make a new survey for
all arable lands.
Accordingly, the study has set a proposal that fits to work-out most of these
problems. The proposal has been discussed with the agricultural cooperative
authorities in Fayoum in order to apply the proposal and evaluate its impacts.