Cooperative activities need to be revitalised, says BIDS report

FE Report The cooperative activities need to be revitalised in the interest of socio-economic development of the country, said a government research report Wednesday in the capital. The report showed the number of cooperatives functioning in seven divisions last year. As per the report, 38,086 cooperatives are active while 22,637 remain inactive. It said that the cooperative activities in the country need to be geared up through indentifying and removing structural weaknesses of unsuccessful cooperative societies. The research suggested that the Department of Cooperatives should cope with the challenges in the areas of coordination, monitoring and evaluation, manpower utilisation, incentive structure and human resources development. Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) carried out the research work that revealed the situation at a dissemination workshop on "Assessment of Contribution of the Department of Cooperatives in Cooperative Movement and Poverty Alleviation in Bangladesh". Director General (DG) of BIDS Dr Mustafa K Mujeri delivered the address of welcome. Senior research fellow of BIDS Dr SM Zulfiqar Ali and former senior research fellow of the organisation Dr Abdul Hye Mondal presented two separate key note papers. State minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Advocate Jahangir Kabir Nanak was present as the chief guest while secretary of Rural Development and Cooperatives Division (RDCD) Dr Mihir Kanti Majumder presided over the workshop. The objective of the research was to evaluate the activities of the Department of Cooperatives in respect of poverty alleviation, human capital, socio-economic and women development. It also said that the current rules and regulations, the existing organisational structure, management capacity building and performance of department of cooperatives should be improved. The research said the cooperatives contributed significantly to the livelihood of its beneficiaries in respect of accumulating assets, facilitating employment diversification and creating new employments and promoting wellbeing of the member households. The contribution of cooperatives to national GDP is estimated at 1.88 per cent. State minister for LGRD and Cooperatives said the government will take initiatives in addressing the weaknesses of cooperatives as per findings of the BIDS. He said the BIDS had completed its research to address poverty alleviation and evaluate the role of cooperatives department in cooperative movement. It also evaluated and assessed the present structural system of cooperatives and its capacity to frame laws and their implementation. Nanak said families enrolled with cooperative societies and involved in income generating programme is 1.88 per cent to the GDP. "We want to utilise the recommendations of BIDS research to push the cooperatives movement forward as it has been playing a significant role in socio-economic development of the country," he mentioned. The government has taken joint initiatives by the Ministry of Public Works and LGRD and Cooperatives to save the agricultural land from gradual shrinking due to use of non-agriculture purposes, he said. Director General (DG) of BIDS said the role of cooperatives in the country should be geared up for alleviating poverty with the participation of people from all walks of life. "The cooperatives should be pro-poor and its structural framework needs to be changed considering the demand of the present globalisation perspective," Dr Mujeri said.