Agricultural cooperatives - a driver for the development of agriculture

The development and experience in the world so far have shown that small private agricultural cooperatives are economical only to a certain extent at the expense of high labor intensity. Practice shows that the small commodity-based economy cannot be competitive in the market and cannotappropriatelyapply the scientific - technical achievements in agriculture. The experience of developed countries shows that in all cases with such an agricultural system, consolidation of holdings begins, with disintegration and disappearance of a large number of small agricultural holdings and creation of holdings - cooperatives of rational size. However, it is also known that this path is long and difficult, and it usually takes place by buying the land from the owners of small and non-competitive holdings. The primary disadvantage of this path of consolidation is the time it takes to achieve and accomplish this long-lasting process, as well as the need to invest substantial funds that will limit the development opportunity and will not contribute to improving profitability in the short run. There is another way to form optimally large economies by means of lease, as the experience of some countries shows (Netherlands, Germany, France), and it is used in our conditions, however some experts assess this system as unfavorable, due to the termination of the connection between the land owner and its management. However, despite the previously elaborated problems, it is necessary to point out that there is clear unsustainability of holdings with a small property in Macedonia, and the only rational way to effectuate land property is through cooperatives created as a real opportunity to unite into a powerful force of a large economy with collective management.