40 K(;YPT - CO-OPERATION AND ASSOCIATION 



the entire loan. There are 250 members in the society. There is a 

 discount committee working both independently and through the discount 

 committee of the Deutsche Bank. I/)ans are only granted on signature 

 of a surety. 



This then was the form of the first co-operative credit society founded 

 by lyufty Bey. The form of a limited liability' society is certainly not the 

 most suitable for co-operative societies generally, and especially not for 

 agricultural co-operative societies : but it is obligatory until the Egyptian 

 Civil Code is suitably amended. 



The proposals made by Omar lyufty in this sense were not adopted. 

 Still he did not abandon the idea and founded a certain number of agri- 

 ciiltural associations under the form of civil societies. During the last three 

 years the co-operative movement initiated by him has been gradually 

 making progress, slowly, it is true, but sufficiently surely. All the associ- 

 ations have prospered, some more some less, and some have acquired a 

 local importance which augurs excellently for the future. 



§ 3. AGRICULTURAI. ASSOCIATIONS AT PRESENT EXISTING. 



Let us now give a short account of the agricultural associations at pre- 

 sent existing in Egypt, their constitution and their working. Of these asso- 

 ciations the most important are those of Shubrah-el-Namlah, Kom-el-Nur 

 and Nahiah, of which we shall speak more in detail. 



Association of Shubrah-el-Namlah. 



This is the oldest of the associations now working in Egypt and was 

 founded on January 21st., 1910. It had at first 97 members, the number of 

 which had increased by December 31st., 1912 to 241. The share capital, at 

 first 8,634 f^s., amounted at the end of the 3^ear to 13,502 frs. It is made up 

 of contributions on shares of 200 milliemes each (5.124 frs.) ; the reserve 

 fund increased in the three years 1910-1912 from 922 frs. to 2,972 frs. But 

 the share capital alone would not suffice to enable the association to meet 

 the fairly considerable demands for the satisfaction of which it was 

 founded : it therefore has had to have recourse to loans. These loans, 

 which it now obtains from the National Bank and during its first working 

 year it obtained from the Credit Co-operative Society mentioned above, 

 amount as a rule to 1,000 Egyptian Poimds (25.620 frs.) a year and are 

 repaid in full with 6 % interest after the harvest. 



The principal business of the association may be briefly summar- 

 ised as follows : purchase of seeds, manure and coal ; sale of these articles 

 again to members at 3 % above purchase price with 7 % interest in case 

 of credit payments ; loans to members. 



