Are cooperatives dead, or still very much alive? Are they still of this time? These questions were at the forefront during the cooperative-event of 24 May. Speakers reached the conclusion that cooperatives definitely have a future. Rita Demaré, chairperson of the VBT spoke during the opening. The core of her story was that growers, cooperatives themselves and buyers are responsible for these cooperations to remain functioning.
Strong involvement
Demaré emphasised that both parties, cooperative and growers, have rights and duties. “Cooperatives have as duty to get the best prices from the market. Yet a good price is not always feasible,” she started. “But is that because cooperatives are not functioning properly, or do external factors play a part in this? Of course, as a cooperative we always have to work on improvements and we have to take responsibility for that ourselves.” Growers are shareholders of cooperatives. “But that means we, the growers, should entrust all of our product to the cooperatives. Being half a cooperative is not working. On the other hand, cooperatives have a duty to market the products as well as possible. I am calling for strong commitment of the cooperatives’ growers. We cannot achieve this without trust.”
Fair compensation
Demaré also mentioned the relationship with the buyer. “We have to talk to them often and we need to know their wishes. But they should also realise that there should be fair compensation. If this does not happen there will not be any growers left in the long run. Everyone gets to profit from our products, but so should we.” Respect for each other is essential for both the relationship between cooperative and grower and between cooperative and customer, according to the chairperson. “We are all responsible together. For my part, I think we should continue going on the market together, cooperatively.”
On Tuesday, 24 May, the event ‘On the market together, cooperatively’ took place. This was organised by KDT, LAVA and VBT. Speakers were Rita Demaré (chairperson VBT), Hannes Hollebecq (Coopburo), Philippe Appeltans (VBT), Paco Borras (Anecoop), Rudy van der Stappen (DG Agri) and the closing speech was by Patricia de Clercq, Deputy Head of Cabinet Agriculture (replacement speaker Joke Schauvliege). In the coming days reports on the other presentations will follow on AGF.nl.