I Fiance Apicultural

71
iuzividual farmers at the district or local level. The finctions of such a
society are to extend credit, marketing, farin input supplies, farl extension
services, processing, water nianagenent, occupation pronotion,
and funeral services to its neellirs.
During 1973-79, the nunber of prilaiy cooperatives varied fron
555 to 823 and their nenbership froiii 324,013 to 685,191. By 1979,
although these socicties served only 15 percent of the total farin population,
they were considered the best-organized farm institution. lIn 197,4
and 1975, the ntiniber of cooperatives declined becatisc of anlalganlatiotis.
I'le mlhin sources (-.f loanable lrsoiices of thlese cooperatives are
share capital, reserve fiends, holrrowimigs, and deposits.
These cooperatives wetsc viable fion 1973 to 1978 (Table 29). Their
average total costs (transaction plus financial) incrcased until 1975 and
thereafter declined steadily through 1978. Theii unit ievenue f[otn all
activities showed siitnilar behavior. (,nseqicnitly, theil unit net llrgin
first iniiproved and then deterio-ated, although it did not turn ncgative
in any of the six years tiider study. In tlrce olit of tie six years, these
societies etijoyed scale ecolnolics in their aggregate costs and itl sonic
years they had neither scale ecolotnics nor disecotionlies. Itl other
words, tie increase ill thi,(r costs was irol-lotioiit c to the itrease in
their value of oluerations. Taking all six of' the years together, these
societies realized constalnt r1etuis to scale l(('able 30), bill both their
viability .lud rea;liZationi of scale ecoiioilics could be iniproved if their
fiiiaicial constIraints could w alleviated, Inailaglinct itnproved, and
extension services expallded bv forling lii own f'(1r1-l inaicing
agency at the pI ovin('ial Ivel.
Agricultural Credit Cooperatives, Thailand
Agricultural credit coo 1 uentives of I' hailan :I( essciially I lliaiy-level
crelit cooper atives, altlougli they do undertake soine noticirdit operations
such as ftii input supplies aild extension (Thailand, Ministry of
Table 2 9 -- Aggregate costs, aggregate revenue, and net margin
of all agricultural cooperatives, Thailand, 1973-78
Variable in Real "eb'ms Meani 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978
Unit aggregalr cos.
(pCri ( lt)
(adininilraii'e plus i..i5 9.68 16.57 18.30 15.98 1I13. 12.50
fiancial c(sis)
Unit aggregate :renulrv
3
15.43 i 18.64 19. 11 17.0.1 15.25 13.10
Unit ne iargin
Marginal aggregaie costs"
0.98
9.83
t .61
;7.27
2.07
33.17
0.81
18.30
1.06
7.19
0.91
.1.73
0.61
10.50
Source: T1aailand, Ministry of Agri uili and Cooperatives, Cooper, fives Pronioion
Departieni 1979.
Note: Real teimts aie derived by ;lptlling ie agricultural ()' deflator with a base
year of 1972/73.
lhiese variables are coillliiu d as a pelceittage of toarblite resoultes plus assets,