Relevance of the legal form of agricultural consumer cooperative
Background. Agricultural consumer cooperative is traditionally considered as an organizational and legal form that allows small producers in rural areas to unite to jointly solve their problems. But in practice, consumer cooperatives are not the most popular form of legal registration of business in rural areas. At the same time, many researchers, as one of the factors constraining the development of agricultural consumer cooperation in our country, point out that this organizational and legal form is somewhat outdated and requires improvement. On the basis of domestic and foreign practical experience of functioning of cooperatives the necessity of adaptation of classical principles of cooperation to modern conditions is noted, the concepts of «hybrid cooperation», «cooperative entrepreneurship»are introduced. The purpose of this study is to find an answer to the question, what exactly are the shortcomings of «classical» cooperation and whether there is really a need for such a transformation. Materials and methods. The research materials used were the works of domestic and foreign scientists, the legislative framework of agricultural consumer cooperatives. General scientific methods of research were used - system approach, abstract, logical, monographic. Results. The study examines the views of some domestic scientists on the shortcomings and advantages of the organizational and legal form of agricultural consumer cooperatives; identified factors contributing to the successful development of cooperatives and their relationship with the organizational and legal form; studied foreign experience in the use of hybrid forms of cooperation. Summary. At the present stage of development of agricultural consumer cooperation in the Russian Federation, traditional cooperatives have not lost their relevance. Preserving all the advantages of the classical principles of cooperation, they allow small agricultural producers to fully demonstrate their entrepreneurial initiative and take a worthy place in the competition. Only with a significant increase in the number of members of the cooperative, expanding the scope of its activities, the question of the development of hybrid forms of cooperation becomes relevant.