CO-OPERATION IN FOOD-SUPPLY igi 



operative producing societies must be based, and no 

 amount of enthusiasm or devoted voluntary work 

 can replace this primary interest of the actual pro- 

 ducers. 



The necessity of these various conditions of suc- 

 cessful co-operation is clearly seen in the case ot 

 societies of this kind which are springing up all over 

 the country as a result of the food situation which has 

 developed so rapidly during the last year. Many 

 of them are run too much from outside, and do not 

 start from the producer. Many of them try to do too 

 much and to deal with too many things. One of 

 them, with which I have a close acquaintance, covers 

 very nearly the whole range of different functions 

 which I mentioned as belonging to the different fields 

 of co-operation, that is to say, it provides implements, 

 seeds, fertilizers, food for live stock, and it also under- 

 takes to market produce. There are a good many 

 societies in this country trying to do too much with 

 too small resources. It is very much better to follow 

 on the lines which the history of the subject has 

 marked out, and to start, if possible, in a small way, 

 with a single commodity or a restricted group of 

 commodities, to specialize, to induce your producers 

 to try the co-operative methods of dealing with their 

 produce, to pay special attention to grading and to 

 the maintaining of a uniform quality, to keeping your 

 market when you have got it; and then, when you 

 obtain success on a limited scale, build on that and 

 do not launch out much further than you can see. 



This is an important point at the present moment, 

 for war conditions are abnormal and difficult. While 

 they supply a great stream of voluntary enthusiastic 

 work, this is temporary, and though, at the time, 

 war conditions necessarily supersede normal condi- 

 tions, and stress is being laid upon increase of quan- 



