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Economic effect, experiences and expectations in agricultural cooperation in the Republic of Croatia

Cooperatives have significant role in economic development and this paper is affirming cooperative philosophy and other ethical cooperatives values. Family farms in the Republic of Croatia are identified as basic and key factors in agriculture cooperative business. Those farms should recognize advantages, adjust to the market and accept changes and new knowledge. Cooperatives in the Republic of Croatia have a rich and long tradition, but with a very turbulent development. The first cooperatives were established on the Croatian territory more than 150 years ago and in some period they were very important economic institutions (Sudarić et al., 2010a ; 320). However, different economic and political conditions have redirected this development and have decreased cooperative activities. The aim of this paper is to present cooperative position in the Republic of Croatia and its potential in retrospective to the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Labor and Entrepreneurship program implementation. New law regulation, different kind of subvention as well as cooperative system of global meaning in the Republic of Croatia is on the way to affirming and supporting this kind of business organization. This paper also contains survey research about opinions of agricultural producers about cooperative business as well as importance of cooperatives in joining to European cooperative society.

agricultural cooperatives ; development ; economy ; Republic of Croatia

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