Development of agricultural credit cooperation in the Volgograd province.

摘要

Without access to cheap credit it will be impossible to achieve stabilisation or growth of Russia's agricultural production. Commercial financial institutions are unwilling to risk their funds by credit provision to the weakened agricultural sector.In the Volgograd province, the first steps have already been taken to create a multi-tier system of credit cooperatives from district to provincial and potentially inter-regional levels and beyond. The legal basis for these structures is the Civil Codeand legislation derived from it. The constituent cooperatives are characterised by principles of voluntary association, equality of members, and accessibility of information. The provincial association, Sodruzhestvo, includes among its members not only local cooperatives but also individual producers operating on a wide range of scales. The aim is to serve members on a non-commercial basis and provide credit on favourable terms, eliminating intermediaries between producers and consumers and putting a brake on inflationary processes.