"Explore 'Co-operation and Rural Development' by G.R. Madan for insights into the role of co-operatives in agricultural and rural development, emphasizing economic and social aspects."

Over Nearly Four Decades Of Their Chequered History, Co-Operative Agriculture And Rural Development (Card) Banks Have Been Able To Emerge As An Outstanding Co-Operative Institution, Catering Exclusively To The Investment Credit Needs Of The Rural Areas. The Kerala Card Bank Is Considered To Be The Best Among The Developing Banks Based On Its Outstanding Performance In Terms Of Many Indicators Like The Quantum Of Advances Made, Reserves, Profit, Small Farmer Coverage Etc. It Has Diversified Its Activities So As To Cover And Assist Rural Artisans, Small Scale Industrialists And Has Also Launched The Financing Of Rural Housing.The Study Examines The Role Of The Bank In Meeting The Long Term Credit Requirements Of The Rural Masses In The State. It Has Also Examined The Impact Of Lending, And The Utilisation And Recovery Pattern Of Loan Advanced.The Study Makes A Brilliant Exposition Of All These Issues And Highlights The Real Problem Prevailing At The Beneficiary Level. The Author Has Used Various Statistical Tools To Make The Study Scientific And Accurate. This Book Should Be Of Vital Importance To Policy Makers And Researchers.

"Rural Development: Putting the Last First" by Robert Chambers is a seminal reference book emphasizing participatory approaches and community-centric strategies for sustainable rural development.

Agricultural cooperatives and producer organizations are institutional innovations which have the potential to reduce poverty and improve food security. This book presents a raft of international case studies, from developing and transition countries, to analyse the internal and external challenges that these complex organizations face and the solutions that they have developed. The contributors provide an increased understanding of the transformation of traditional community organizations into modern farmer-owned businesses. They cover issues including: the impact on rural development and inclusiveness, the role of social capital, formal versus informal organizations, democratic participation and member relations, and their role in value chains. Students and scholars will find the book’s multidisciplinary approach useful in their research. It will also be of interest to policy-makers seeking to understand the wide diversity of organizational forms and functions. NGOs, donors and governments seeking to support rural developments will benefit from the discussions raised in this book.

Policy-relevant and up-to-date, Rural Development deals systematically with all aspects of socioeconomic rural development, using India as a case study. The Second Edition includes an integrated treatment of the principles, policies and management of rural development; new research and statistical data; illustrations and examples from current situations; the latest measures of rural development; and a new methodology for project monitoring and evaluation.

'No person, no country in the world, irrespective of its stage of development, is fully self-sufficient. Cooperation brings together peoples and nations and facilitates peaceful co-existence.' So begins Rural Cooperation In The Cooperative Movement In Tanzania, what will undoubtedly be seen as a seminal work in the field. The author has lectured a course on Rural Cooperation in Tanzania at the University of Dar es Salaam for seven consecutive years, but lack of appropriate books with adequate coverage of the course content obliged him to conduct extensive research on cooperation and cooperatives. The resulting book covers the entire field and addresses the subject by providing a foundation on which wider study can be based. It is intended to make its readers aware of the strategies and challenges of cooperation and has a wider relevance, as it will be useful to policy makers in the cooperative sector, which is a significant part of the private sector in Tanzania, and indeed in most African countries. By June 2008, there were 2614 agricultural marketing cooperative societies, 4780 savings and credits cooperative societies, 71 livestock cooperative societies, 129 fishing cooperative societies, 11 housing cooperative societies, 3 mining cooperative societies, 185 industrial cooperative societies, 98 water irrigation cooperative societies, 4 transport cooperative societies, 103 consumer cooperative societies, and 553 service and other cooperative societies; perfectly illustrative of the movement's scope and the need to pay it careful attention. The topics included make it appropriate for use in Sociology, Rural Development, Marketing, Development Studies and studies in other specialties in the Social Sciences. From an exploration of the cooperative movement's various international iterations to a perspicacious survey of the history of cooperatives in Tanzania, Dr. Lyimo highlights the issues facing farmers and business people and illustrates the way in which cooperative effort- enterprises that put people, and not capital, at the center of their business- can not only improve members' economic power in bargaining for better marketing conditions and prices, but also to increase employment opportunities, thereby improving the standard of living for a large number of people. In these times of penury and economic disenfranchisement, this book not only fills the information gap, but provides, in the ultimate chapters, 'Procedures for Organizing a Cooperative Society', and 'Managing Rural Cooperative Societies', the basic principles and advice for those considering the cooperative model as the best means of improving their economic viability.

With reference to India; symposium papers.