CHINA – Yunnan Pu’er Farmer Cooperative Federation

Yunnan Pu’er Farmer Cooperative Federation (“Pu’er Federation” for short) was established and registered on October 25, 2010, which is based on various farmer cooperative economic organizations in Pu’er, to admit large-scale grower, family farms, farmer cooperatives, leading agricultural enterprises, agricultural service organizations, and agricultural science and technology personnel. As one of the main members of Yunnan Farmer Cooperative Federation – a Joint Implementation Unit of MTCP2 China Program, Pu’er Federation actively participated in the training projects on legalized development supported by the MTCP2 project, applied the knowledge and management norms obtained from the training to the construction and development of the organization. Gradually, it has become a leading force in the development of Yunnan farmer cooperatives by establishing an organizational system, improving the operation mode, and improving management services. Specifically:

1. Establish an organizational system. Pu’er Federation is organized by administrative region, from city to county (district) to township (town) to village, set up at different levels. At the municipal city-level, it establishes a non-profit social organization with an independent legal personality called “the Federation of Municipal Farmer Cooperatives Federation”. At the county or district level, there are branches (Branch Offices) in ten counties (districts). At the township level, there are service stations for farmer cooperatives being set up in 103 townships (towns). At the village level, there are union cooperatives in 368 poor villages. The resources are integrated and services delivered to farmers all the way through Pu’er Federation to farmer cooperatives.

2. Perfect of operational mode. According to the principle of “run by the local people, managed by the local people and benefiting the local people”, Pu’er Federation assumed the leading and driving functions of farmer cooperatives across the city. Pu’er Federation is the bridge and link between the government and farmer cooperatives, and its mission is to coordinate the relationship between farmer cooperatives and the government and among different farmer cooperatives, and to serve the development of farmers cooperatives across the city. It organizes its members to participate in trade fairs and exhibitions strengthen foreign economic ties, promotes cooperative development in economic, technological, and trade fields, and helps its members explore domestic and foreign markets.

3. Improve management services. In order to increase the farmers’ organizational degree, solve the difficulties that single household cannot solve and cannot run well, guide thousands of decentralized farmers to be united and break into the market together, Pu’er Federation has taken good performance and legal development of the cooperatives as a key task. It guides farmer cooperatives to establish and enhance rules and regulations, to timely make registration and change according to law, to clarify the relationship of property rights, to reasonably distribute profits, to establish exit mechanism, etc. At present, most of the farmer cooperatives led by the president of the county (district) level farmer cooperatives federations are demonstration cooperatives at or above the county level, among which 7 are rated as Demonstration Cooperatives at national level.