Two thousand and twelve has been recognized by the United Nations as the International Year Of Cooperatives.
This is the international community acknowledgement that cooperatives drive the economy, respond to social change, are resilient in the global economic crisis, and are serious, successful businesses creating jobs in all sectors.
Cooperatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity.
In Barbados, these commercial enterprises, which are formed by and operated for the benefit of members, can be found in the agriculture, transportation and fishing sectors.
However, the most recognized cooperatives in the island are credit unions, in which Barbadians have amassed savings of more than $1 billion.
Credit unions have long provided ordinary Barbadians with the financial means to improve their standard of living and within the last decade they have experienced phenomenal growth.
However, there is room for other cooperatives to contribute to Barbados’ economic development.
Back in 2007, then Minister of Commerce Senator Lynette Eastmond said she would like to see more cooperatives in Barbados.
She said Government’s focus was not only on credit unions but also on business cooperatives like those in agriculture, fisheries, and taxis.
“It has been a great desire of mine to see these cooperatives, and maybe new ones, become the strong and powerful organizations that they are now in the country. It probably requires more detailed study; it may very well be a cultural issue as to why [they don’t exist].
“In Costa Rica you have large cooperatives involved in coffee, for example, and you know? in the United States that there are very large cooperatives involved in agriculture, in fruits and so on, and they are very, very large and very powerful organizations.
“They give small businesses an opportunity to pool their resources so that they are able to access markets, be able to purchase items in bulk and be able to manage their businesses more effectively . . .,” said Eastmond in the October 7, 2007 SUNDAY SUN.
The minister also said she was aware that “a number of initiatives have been tried in the past that have not been as effective as they could have been” but there were “a couple of co-operatives that show signs of being very successful”.
She added: “We would therefore like to build on that because it is very important for us in Barbados as far as business is concerned to ensure that they are competitive.
“I believe that in terms of competitiveness, collaboration of some kind is going to be part of the solution whether it is in forming companies, partnerships, joint ventures – short term and long term – or through the cooperative movements.”
Most recently, Barbados Co-operative & Credit Union League Limited president Hally Haynes said the league would be undertaking a survey aimed at developing the nation’s non-financial cooperative sector.
In the July 6, 2011 MIDWEEK NATION he noted that while the credit union movement in Barbados had “grown significantly” over the last 30 years, non-financial cooperatives were not experiencing similar growth.
“As a movement and as a country, we must ask ourselves serious questions in relation to the lack of growth in this sector, which has the potential to enhance the manufacturing and productive sectors of our economy,” he said.
Haynes reported that the league would be seeking to engage the Ministry of Commerce, non-financial cooperatives and other stakeholders to undertake a survey of the non-financial sector with the aim of preparing a “strategic map” for the development of the non-financial cooperative sector.
“We are of the view that given the Government’s focus on entrepreneurship and enterprise development, the non-financial co-operative sector can be a key vehicle in promoting and advancing these two drivers which can be considered the next pillars of economic development in Barbados,” he said.
“In addition, well-coordinated and organized cooperatives can contribute significantly to the reduction of Barbados’ high food import bill.”
However, Haynes said such a survey would be impossible without proper policy frameworks to empower entrepreneurs and include young people in the principles and practice of cooperatives.
