THE ASSOCIATION OF THE AGRICULTURISTS 



must be chosen from the number of original members who undertake to 

 pay a monthly subscription throughout their term of office. 



The council represents the association officially and manages and ad- 

 ministers its affairs in respect of all its engagements and of its various 

 aims. 



§ 2. The society's enterprise on behaef op' its members. 



The association conducts various enterprises in pursuit of its aims, in 

 order to meet the social, technical and economic needs of its members. 

 Some of these enterprises have the general character common to all insti- 

 tutions of this type. Thus members' appeals and requests are dealt with 

 and supported ; activity is guided towards social ends and the end of co-op- 

 eration ; and the sale and purchase of goods useful to agriculture and stock 

 farming is practised, as are the sale and purchase of machines and imple- 

 ments. Other forms of enterprise, which in practice have great importance, 

 need a special organization. They are the credit fund, the centre for 

 dealing with farmers' contracts, and the office of technical, agronomic and 

 legal advice. We will briefly examine these special enterprises. 



Credit Fund. — This is the most recent enterprise of the society, 

 having been constituted only on 31 March 1916, but it is none the less the 

 most important hitherto established. 



It was formed in response to the urgent need of Spanish agriculture 

 for capital, a need which grew daily and which was felt with exceptional 

 intensity owing to the European war. The war and the resultant excep- 

 tional situation of home and foreign trade have made provisioning a prob- 

 lem in Spain, a problem which has to be solved by an increased home 

 production. The archaic and defective character of most of the existing 

 systems of agriculture and the fact that agriculture is not industrialized 

 have become apparent, and these conditions are due to the insufficiency 

 or the total lack of capital. 



It cannot be denied that since 1916 almost all districts of Spain have 

 come to be provided with agricultural sjmdicates who have worked to ame- 

 liorate the position by means of rural funds. But in most cases these at- 

 tempts did not met with the desired success, in some they have complete- 

 ly failed ; for the banks were suspicious of them and their guarantees 

 were not always such as to inspire confidence. The need was therefore 

 felt of a national institution which should not only afford agricultural 

 credit but should also act as intermediary between the rural groups and 

 the credit establishments. It was to supply this need that the Association 

 of the Agriculturi.sts of Spain, having first come to an agreement with the 

 Bank of Spain, formed its credit fund. 



This fund is intended : i) to be an intermediary, connecting the capi- 

 tal available in urban centres with agricultural industries ; 2) to cause 

 the formation and development of local rural funds ; 3) to furnish the 



