DEVELOPMENT OF COOPERATIVES IN YUGOSLAVIA

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CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5
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RIPPUB
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R
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12
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December 22, 2016
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September 13, 2011
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344
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Publication Date: 
July 30, 1953
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REPORT
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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 CLASSIFICATION RESTRICTED "'NTRAL INTELZ GENCEA GENCYN INFORMATION FROM FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS PUBLISHED l949, 1952 LANGUAGE Serbian WHERE PUBLISHED DATE COUNTRY Yugoslavia SUBJECT Economic - Agriculture, cooperative HOW PUBLISHED Handbook LAi,O. 01 ITS CO?tl?b 1. ICC V1 ., .a I,?I O. I)Cp?I,.,O I, he following report Is based on arr.icl.es in the Informativni rirucnik o Sugoslavi 1, a handbook published in sections since late 19 by the Yugoslav Directorate for Information, Numbers in parentheses refer to appended socxnes.7 REPORT CD NO. DATE OF DATE DIST. 3 0 Jul 1953 NO. OF PAGES 12 SUPPLEMENT TO REPORT NO. THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION DEVELOPMENT OF COOPERATIVES TN YU(i!)SLAV.IA STATE ARMY Cooperatives in Yugoslavia date from the last c.ee*.uxy. In Ljubljana, in 1855, an artisans, cooperative was established on the Suice?-Delic principle. In the 1870's, the cooperative movement (artisans' cooperatives) gained stronger impetus? especially in Slovenia under the leadership of Mihailo Vosn- jak and in Serbia under the leadership of Svetozar Markovic,. In the 1890's, concurrently with the penetration of goods and money rela- tions into villages, farm-work cooperatives began developing, especially in Slovenia under the leadership of Janez Krak and in Serbia under the leadership of Mihailo Avramovic. By World War I, farm work cooperatives were extensively developed in the countries of present-day Yugoslavia, except in Macedonia and Montenegro. In 1920, there were 15 cooperative associations comprising about 3,500 cooperatives. By 1925, the number of cooperatives had increased to 3,943; by the end of 1939, there were 38 supervisory unions and 4, operational associations, comprising 1.1,309 cooperatives.. These were credit cooperatives (44.5 percent), procurement-consumer cooperatives (a.4 percent), farm-work pro- duction cooperatives (18.4 percent), artisans, production rind processing coop- eratives (1.5 percent), and other cooperatives such as fishing, health, hous- ing, and the like (11,6 percent). Ninety percent of the procurement-consumer and credit cooperatives were comprised of farm-work cooperatives. All cooper- atives were members of the Main Cooperative Association, Informativni prirucaik o Jugoslavij . NAW I LASES I DISTRIBUTION I FBI - _I.- ..- Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 Cooperatives united agricultural producers and connected them with banks, industry, and commerce. It was through cooperatives that farmers obtained credit and industrial goods, and collected and sent their products to market. Cooperatives enabled farmers to obtain cheaper credit, procure goods through fewer middlemen, and organize the sale of their products. and to some extent helped farmers increase agricultural production. By uniting in cooperatives, farmers tried to resist capitalist pressure and exploitation.. However, in a capitalist society, cooperatives also had to have a capitalist character. They paved the way for capitalists to enter the villages, strengthened capi- talist elements in the villages, and were a convenient instrument in the hands of financial capital and the village bourgeoisie. Prominent reactionaries and representatives of the monarchofascist dictatorship, such as Korosec, Ljotic, and Natlacen, had leading roles in the cooperative movement, Therefore, de- spite their large number, cooperatives did not play much of a role in the eco- nomic and social life of prewar Yugoslavia, nor could they be of much use to the working people. During the occupation most of the reactionary leadersh:p of cooperative associations joined the occupation, including Ljotic and Mihailo Avramovic in Serbia, the Clerical Cooperative Association in Slovenia. and cooperatives under the leadership of the Ustashi in Croatia.. Cooperatives which did not want to work for the occupying enemy were either liquidated or forced to ab- stain from activity. After the liberation, only 5;140 cooperative organizations were in a position to resume work. In postwar Yugoslavia, agricultural cooperatives were soon re-established and reorganized. They gradually lost their capitalist character and acquired a socialist character. Their leadership was taken over by farm workers, and co- operatives became a part of the socialist sector of the economy. Cooperatives played an important role in the struggle against capitalist speculation and the difficulties in the commerce and supply system; exchange of goods between vil- lage and city was developed through them. Agricultural and artisans' eoo,era- tives acquired importance as a means of including small producers in the planned economy and in the socialist development of the country. Cooperatives of blue- and white-collar workers also developed. By the end of 1948, Yugoslavia had the following number of cooperatives: Agricultural Cooperatives (including farm-work co- ) t Artisans' Cooperatives Bloc- and White-rr.11ar Workers' Cooperatives Total Year ives opera _ 1945 5,072 440 367 5,879 1948 9,984 1.258 315' 11,399 *This decrease was due to the establishment of the Workers, Supply Service, which took ove: the function of supplying blue- and white-collar workers in enter- prises.(1) Cooperatives developed more rapidly in 1949 and 1950 than in previous years. By the end of 1950, there were 18,121 cooperatives in Yugoslavia. Cooperatives received from the state, for operating capital, credits total- ing 6,277,813,000 dinars in 1948, 7,873,588,000 dinar in 1949, and 11,351,657,000 dinars in 1950. Investment credits totaling 1,791,503,000 dinars were granted farm-work cooperatives in 1948, 3,322,718,E dinars in 194,9 and 4,380,583,000 di- nars in 1950. To build cooperative centers, cooperatives dinars 1,131,8365 dinars in 1948, 1,337,055,000 diners in 1949, and 1,188.. Cooperatives pay the National Bank only one percent annual interest on credits for investment construction. STAT Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 In the building of cooperative centers, only a pert of the building was financed by credits made available through the National Bank, The main part of the burden was borne voluntarily by cooperatives or their members, who donated and prepared construction materials and donated labor. By the end of 1950, 2,500 cooperative centers had been completed, and 1,600 others were un- der construction. The capital construction plan in the cooperative sector was very exten- sive in 1950; 7,781 projects were made fully available for service, primarily stables, pigsties, fattening pens, and storehouses; 3,461 additional farm buildings were roofed; walls of 2,985 farm buildings were completed to the roof; and foundations were laid for 1,958 new farm buildings. In 1950, the Foundations for Mcchanii.ation and Investment Construction in CooperativeAgriculture turned over the following items to farm-work coop- eratives: 2,448 tractors, 2,669 tractor-drawn plows, 2,525 harrows, 1,173 binderr, 1,714 threshers, 293 locomobiles, 2,600 other machines, and a large number of other tools and implements. The number of persons trained for work in cooperatives increased as fol- lows: 2,396 in 1947, 5,509 in 1948, 27,817 in 1949, and 15,1.45 in the first 5 months of 1950. In reorganizing its agencies the state transferred dis- placed highly qualified and medium-qualified personnel to cooperatives as agronomists, veterinarians, and economists. The percentage of livestock in cooperatives, as compared with total num- ber of livestock, was as follows: 15 Jan 1949 man 1 0 15 Jan 1951 Horses 3.1 16.8 18.2 Cattle 2 12.8 15 Sheep 3.1 18 22.6 Pigs 5.2 15.7 19.8 Poultry 3.4 15,.14 17.4 Cooperatives had 587,022 hectares of land in 1948. 1,955,300 hectares in 1949, and 2,289,575 hectares in 1950.(2) Agricultural cooperatives today represent the economic organization of farm workers, whose goals are to increase agricultural production, to raise economic and cultural levels in villages, and to develop socialism in vil- lages. The activities of agricultural cooperatives include: the growing of cereals and vegetables, fruits, and other agricultural products; the raising of livestock; fishing; beekeeping; forestry; and similar activities. To meet their own needs, agricultural cooperatives also engage in industrial and arti- 'sans, activities. Procurement and selling are also a major part of their work. Agricultural cooperatives are organized on the principle of voluntary ef- forts and internal democracy. All members of a cooperative are equal, with equal rights and equal duties. The cooperative is administered by a staff elected by its members at assembly meetings. The assembly is the highest organ STAT Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 of the cooperative which issues and emends regulations, and accepts and expels members. Any farm worker over 16 m;.-,y be a member of a cooperative. Rich farm- ers may be accepted into cooperatives only if their attitude guarantees they will observe the principles governing the cooperatives organization and work. Cooperative land and other cooperative means of production form the basis of cooperative economic activity. The means of produc'.'-)n in a cooperative may be cooperative property, state property on loan to the cooperative, or property belonging to members which they bring in under certain conditions. The cooperative carries out its activities on the basis of its own economic plan. Its economic plan comprises the economic activities of the cooperative and the economic activities of its members which they carry out for the cooper- ative on their personal plots. The economic plan of a cooperative is a compo- nent part of the plan of the srez association of agricultural cooperatives, which in turn is a component part of the plan of the srez peopleIs council and thus a component part of the state economic plan, General Agricultural Cooperatives General agricultural cooperatives represent the 'roadest economic organiza- tion of farm workers. General agricultural cooperatives originat'1 largely from agricultural cooperatives for procurement and selling.. These were the lowest form of agricultural cooperative and until recently the most widespread. Their activities were confined to the purchase and sale of industrial goods in villages, and to the sale of agricultural products in cities and to industrial enterprises. Such cooperatives played an important role in the creation and development of economic ties between villages and cities and between agriculture and industry, and were a component part of socialist commerce. The economic and social development of the country and the development of the cooperative movement called for and made possible the development and expan- sion of the activities of cooperatives for procurement and selling and their merger with processing, credit, and farm-work cooperatives into a single agri- cultural cooperative. In addition to its procurement and selling activities. the general agricultural cooperative expanded its activities to include proces- sing, organizing of work.shops, developing of agricultural production, organiz- ing of joint production on cooperative farms, and organizing machine, stud, and seed stations; organizing of seedling centers, bee centers, cattle farms, fish- ing, and forestry; organizing artisans' and industrial production for their own needs; and engaging in savings and credit operations, General agricultural cooperatives, therefore, have a very important role in the economic development of villages. In addition to developing agricultural production, they deal with many village communal problems, such as electrifica- tion, health and veterinary stations, water supply, and construction of cooper- ative centers. They also contribute to the technical, cultural, educational, ideological, and political advancement of villages, A general agricultural cooperative, which normally is set up to include a village area, includes almost all farm workers in it. Members of the coopera- tive retain personal plots, which they may turn over for the use of the cooper- ative, partially or entirely. From the resources thus brought in, and from re- sources received from the state or purchased, the cooperative forms its eco- nomic unit. Production is organized on the basis of tools and equipment used cooperatively and on the basis of joint, cooperative work. The economic unit represents the cooperative farm, which includes the land, the cooperative ma- chine station, cooperative workshops, draught animals, and the like. One form of the cooperative economic unit is the cooperative livestock farm, which is managed as a separate unit within the cooperative. RESTRICTED STAT Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 Income from the cooperative is divided into capital for the expansion of cooperative production and income for members based on means of production they contributed and number of workdays they contributed.(1) General agricultural cooperatives* have developed as follows: Year No of Cooperatives No of Members No of Consumers Cooperative Land (ha) 1945* 5,041 493,800 -- 1946* 8,011 1,807,798 10,011,820 -- 1947* 6,632 2,535,408 10,516,655 -- 1948 8,666 3,127,464 11,896,47.1 262,038 (1) 1949 9,060 3,172,666 12,497,481 -- 1950 8,004 3,540,339 13,000,000 (about) -- (2) *Until 1948, they were called cooperatives for procurement and selling.(1) The reduction in the number of cooperatives in 1950 resulted from mergers, car- ried out at the request of members, guided by the principle that there should be one general agricultural cooperative within the sphere of each local people's council.(2) As of 31 December 1948, general agricultural cooperatives in the republics were distributed as follows- No of Coop- No of eratives Households No of Members Serbia 3,343 988,319 1,468,502 Croatia 1,810 613,417 725,034 Slovenia 1,158 162,815 193,785 Bosnia-Hercegovina 1,302 341,714 389,015 Macedonia 923 195,611 245,145 Montenegro 131 46,028 105,983 Tot:;.1 8,667 2,347,904 3,127,464 By the end of 1948, Joint cooperative property in general agricultural coop- eratives included 262,038 hectares of land, 721 large machines (tractors and threshers), 23,033 medium and small machines, 5,230 horses and cattle, and 11,455 goats and sheep. Cooperatives had 2,025 cooperative auxiliary establishments (seedling centers, experimental and seed stations, smokehouses) and 2,346 work- shops. (.l) The number of consumers using general agricultural cooperatives has grow%, so that every farmer is a consumer of a general agricultural cooperative. STAT Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 The number of cooperative members can be increased through enrolling all members of a household (which belongs to a cooperative) over the age of 18, as is called for by the law. The number of women joining the cooperative movement in the postwar period has increased from: 377,743 in 1946, 937,822 in 1947, and 1,367,987 in 1948 to 1,959,782 in 1949. General agricultural cooperatives had 2,120 farms in 1949 and 1,149 in 1950. The decrease in 1950 resulted from general agricultural cooperatives ful- filling their basic mission, that of transforming themselves into farm-work co- opsratives. General agricultural cooperatives developed extensive economic activity as evidenced by the following: in 1950, they had 1,259 industrial enterprises, 3,424 artisans, workshops, 2,081 hotel and restaurant operations, 767 agricul- tural machine and implement stations with over 10,000 agricultural machines and implements, 324 stock breeding stations with about 2,000 head of breeding stock, 58 livestock farms with about 13,000 head of stock, 82 fruit tree and vine nur- series, and 71 health stations. Trade in general agricultural cooperatives totaled almost 19 billion dinars in 1948 and over 16 billion dinars in 1.949, although trade was generally limited to that at fixed prices, while state purchasing of agricultural production di- verted most of it to the state trade system. In 1950, trade in general agri- cultural cooperatives totaled 25,225,865,000 s.inars, or 55 percent more than in 1949? Savings and credit activities of general agricultural cooperatives were as follows: Year 1949 1950 No of Savings and Credit Branches No of Denositois Total Deposits (dinars) 4,197 62.271 84,300,000 4,384 90,6xo1 122,452,000 In addition farmers subscribed 1.55?.700,000 dinars to the Second People's Loan in 1950.(2) Farm-Work Cooperatives Farm-work cooperatives today represent the highest form of agricultural co- operative and one of the most widespread. Farm-work. cooperatives are divided into four types. In the first type, members bring land into the cooperative, retain owner- ship rights to it, and are paid a fixed rent by the cooperative for it, In the second type, members bring land into the cooperative, retain owner- ship rights to it, and receive interest from the cooperative on the value of the land. In the third type, members bring land into the cooperative, retain owner- ship rights to it, but waive any rent or interest on it.. In the fourth type, members bring land into the cooperative and waive owner- ship rights to it. Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 STAT Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 When establishing a cooperative. its members determine the type of cooper- ative it is to be. The assembly of a cooperative may decide that a lower type of cooperative shall be changed into a higher type., The members of a farm-work cooperative bring all their land into the cooperative, farm buildings, all tools and implements, draught animals and breeding stork, fodder and seed, ex- cept what they are entitled to retain as their household property. The cooper- ative reimburses members for their land, implements, and livestock within 5-10, or 10-15 years, depending upon whether the stock of agricultural implements, livestock, and farm buildings is small, medium-sized, or large. Each household joining a farm-work cooperative is entitled tc retain house- hold property of up to one hectare of agricultural land, the dwelling, farm buildings needed, one to two cows, one pig with offspring, up to five sheep, up to ten beehives, and an unlimit.d number of poultry. In mountainous regions where livestock raising is predominant, the amount of land and the number of livestock to be retained are larger, The cooperative assists its members in working their household plots by lending them necessary implements. Tasks in farm-work cooperatives are organized on the basis of work units, brigades, and groups. Each unit is responsible for its work sector, Payment for work are based on the tasks completed or the workdays completed, and are settled in cash or in cash and payment in kind. Income of farm work cooperatives is divided into cooperative funds, rents or interest, and the earnings of members. Farm-work cooperatives have a basic fund, working funds, reserve funds, a social security fund, and a fund for culture and education. The basic fund can- not be divided; it consists of land, machinery and tools, installations, build- ings, and livestock, and monetary resources destined for increasing the basic fund. Working funds consist of a seed fund, a fund for livestock fodder, and other working resources. Reserve funds consist of a reserve seed fund, a re- serve fund for livestock fodder, and a reserve fund for food. The social se- curity fund serves members in cases of temporary or permanent work disability, provides for the maintenance and education of tnprovided for children, provides for nurseries and nursery schools and for the medical needs of members and the like. The fund for culture and education serves the cultural and educational needs of members. Cooperative funds as a whole mey total no more than 30 per- cent of the income of the cooperative, The amount of rent or interest to be paid for land brought into cooperatives of the first and second type is determined by the cooperatives assembly, but the total rent may not exceed 30 percent of the cooperative's total income, and interest may not exceed the maximum interest rate set by the state. The balance of the cooperative's income is distributed as earnings to mem- bers, usually amounting to about 70 percent of the cooperatives total income, or 50-200 dinars a workday or 10,000.15,000 diners annually per household. Farm-work cooperatives started developing rapidly after the Second Plenary Session of the CK KPJ (Central Committee of the Yugoslav Communist Party), held in January 1949, when it established that socialist development had created con- ditions and possibilities favorable to more rapt:' development of agricultural cooperatives and that it was necessary to speed up the development of agricul- tural, cooperatives as a whole, and farm-work cooperatives in particular. The number of cooperatives increased as follows, Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 STAT Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 Yr No of Cooperatives No of Households Area ha 1946 454 25,062 121,518 1947 779 40,590 210,986 1948 1,318 60,158 323,984 (1) 1949 6,625 340,739 1,839,978 1950 6,968 418,659 2,226,166 Although the number of farm-work cooperatives grew rapidly until the end of 1949, only 343 new cooperatives were established in 1950, for 1950 was devoted chiefly to the expansion of already established cooperatives. An average of 51 households per cooperative in 1949 increased to an average of 60 households per cooperative in 1950. Average land holdings increased from 290 hectares per co- operative in 1949 to 320 hectares in 1950. By the end of 1950, farm-work cooperatives included 18,11 percent of all farm households and 19.1 percent of the agricultural area of Yugoslavia. The highest degree of collectivization was achieved in the grain-growing areas, be- causa conditions were very favorable to collectivization in these areas. By the end of 1950, farm-work cooperatives in the Vojvodina included 39.2 percent of its rural households and 41.5 percent of its land. The development of farm-work cooperatives in the republics was uneven because of different economic and political conditions in them, At the end of 1950, farm-work cooperatives were distributed as shown below, (The rate of collectiv- ization by households and land area is calculated in relat^.on to the total num- ber of rural households and total farm land. Forests, swamps, and marshes are not included in land area.) No of Farm-Work Cooperatives No of Households Percent of Total Rural Households Total Land Area ha Percent of Total Farm Land Serbia 2,091 174,046 17 8 962,206 19.5 Croatia 1,591 68,793 11.7 320,072 12.2 Slovenia 379 8,570 5.3 81,924 9.3 Bosnia- 8 59 051 18 1 Hercegovina 1,511 70,070 1 3 3 , , Macedonie 947 70,381 509 365,418 41.7 Montenegro 449 26,799 39 9 137,445 37.1 Total 6,968 418,659 18.11 2,226,166 19.1 Producer and Processing Cooperatives Agricultural-producer and processing cooperatives include cooperatives devoted to viticulture and wine making, fishing, dairying. livestock, apiculrure, poultry and rabbit raising, hop growing, olive growing, and the like, These cooperatives operate in accordance with established principles governing Yugoslav cooperatives, while their function is to receive the products of their members for processing and sale. STAT Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 By 1949, these cooperatives had decreased to 438 with about 40,000 cooper- ative members because many of the cooperatives had merged with general agricul- tural cooperatives or with farm-work cooperatives.(2) Artisans' cooperatives consist of artisans' production and service coop- eratives and of artisans' cooperatives for procurement: and selling. Artisans' production and service cooperatives unite the labor force, produc- tion, and material resources of artisans. Such cooperatives are the most suit- able means for including artisans in the plan for the advancement and reconstruc- tion of artisans' trades. The establishment of such cooperatives is based on the principle of free choice, guaranteed by law, Members may be master craftsmen or aides. Coopera- tives may utilize only the labor of their members. Members are remunerated ac- cording to the quantity and quality of work. Besides producing or processing specific products or performing various services, artisans' production and service cooperatives sell their own products; open workshops, retail shops, warehouses, and the like; and strengthen and ad- vance artisan activities. Cooperatives seek constantly to improve the quality of their goods and services, and to train, educate, and improve member personnel professionally. The development of artisans' production and service cooperatives has been as follows: No of Cooperatives No of Members 1939* 166 * 1945* 334 1947 928 20,547 1948 1,056 24,932 (1) 1949 jot specified] jot specified 1950 1,181 (2) jot specified *No data on the number of members was available for 1939 or 1945.(1) Artisans' Cooperatives for Procurement and Selling Artisans' cooperatives for procurement and selling, composed of individual artisans and artisans' production and service cooperatives, supply members with tools and materials, sell members' products, construct buildings and installa- tions for the use of members, strengthen artisan activities. and provide skilled training for artisan personnel. The state assists them in organization and in supplying tools and material,. In 1945, there were 106 artisans' cooperatives for procurement and selling; in 1949, about 200.(l) In 1950, there were 261 (60,871 members). Artisans' co- operatives founded credit cooperatives, especially in Serbia and Croatia, where there are about 50.(2) STAT Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14~: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 Blue- and White-Collar Workers I Cooperatives Blue- and white-collar workers' cooperatives, which acted as a supply service for workers, have developed as follows: No of Cooperatives No of Members 1945 367 382,565 1946 569 524,250 1947 357 476,145 1948 315 434,882 The decrease after 1947 was caused by the establishment in industrial and mining centers of the Workers, Supply Service, to which the functions of these cooperatives were transferred.(1) Most of the blue- and white-collar workers' cooperatives, which now 957 number only about 21, are located in Slovenia. Other Nonagricultural Cooperatives There are 71 cooperatives for electrification, 49 for credit, 7 for apart- ment houses, 3 for construction, 2 for hunting, 2 for water systems, and others. Although these cooperatives are relatively insignificant, some of them recently have shown a tendency to grow, such as apartment house cooperatives, consumer cooperatives, and the like.(2) Higher Cooperative Organizations General agricultural cooperatives and farm-work cooperatives in each srez unite to form a srez association of agricultural cooperatives, which becomes their higher cooperative organization. Its functions are to unite, through its economic plan, cooperative agricultural activities in a srez; to aid coop- eratives in developing agricultural production, to look after the needs of co- operative experimental stations, seedling stations, agricultural machinery sta- tions, handicraft and artisan-industrial workshops, and the like; to purchase and sell for its member cooperatives and organize their credit operations; and to provide technical, organizational, and other assistance, particularly assist- ance in planning production and training personnel. The highest organ of an association is the assembly. It elects administra- tive and supervisory councils, has the right of recall over these organs, and solves the association's important problems. The assembly consists of delegates from member cooperatives, the number of delegates being determined by the number of members in the cooperatives concerned.(l) Because of t.e large number of farm-work cooperatives and their special problems and needs, Foundations for Mechanization and Investment Construction for Cooperative Agriculture were es- tablished in September 1950; these include farm-work cooperatives within a srez. Through these foundations the state creates cooperative units, provides re- sources for the mechanization of agricultural production (tractors, agricultural machinery, and implements), and provides resources for capital and other con- struction. The property which the state contributes to farm-work cooperatives is general people's property given to the cooperatives for their utilization. As of 15 December 1950, the following resources had been contributed to cooper- atives: STAT Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120344-5 Tractors Drawn Plows Threshers (Harvesters) Serbia 1,362 1,362 996 Croatia 567 647 427 Slov