Over 800 delegates gathered in Sankt Petersburg for the 2nd Whole Russian Congress of Rural Co-operatives where they shared ideas and experiences on agricultural products and innovation.
While at the Congress they also took part in the agro-industrial exhibition “Agrorus Regions”, which is a forum for communication and exchange of experience on new state support measures and regulation for rural co-operatives.
The exhibition was jointly organised by Centrosojuz of Russia, the national body for consumer co-operatives, the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia and the Association of Peasant and Farmer Communities and Rural Co-operatives.
In his opening speech at the exhibition, Alexander Petrikov, secretary of state and vice minister for agriculture, said that the 1st Whole-Russian Congress had resulted in the approval of the concept of co-operative development in rural areas until 2020.
The Congress was opened by Evgeny Kuznetsov, chairman of the Council of Centrosojuz and board member of the International Co-operative Alliance.
Participants touched upon a number of key topics, including co-operative legislation and state support, credit unions and consumer co-operatives as well as youth co-operation.
Another guest speaker at the event, deputy Prime-Minister of the Russian Federation, Arkadiy Dvorkovich, read a welcoming speech on behalf of Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev, who noted the significant role of farmers and co-operatives in the development of the Russian agriculture.
Mr Dvorkovich also stated the food security was a key issue on the government’s agenda, with rural co-operation playing a key role in achieving this. He revealed that rural co-operatives would be included in the government’s development programmes and will be able to receive state support.
Speaking at the Congress, Liudmila Zaytseva, chair of the Board of the Centrosojuz and also member of the Board of the Cooperatives Europe reported on the role of consumer co-operatives in increasing of the life standards in rural areas. Participants also highlighted some of the main obstacles to co-operative development, such as the lack of unity at local level among co-operators. They agreed that co-operatives in some regions should try to make connections and make efficient use of various consolidated organisations to exchange experience, technical knowledge and resources.
Photo: delegates at the 2nd Whole Russian Congress in Sankt Petersburg.
