ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses why cooperatives flourish in western India. It describes some of the outstanding leaders who have built the cooperative movement in western India. Starting in the latter part of the 19th century, the government began to promote irrigation, cooperation, and other aspects of rural development. Thus the structure of rewards in western India generates strong incentives for village leaders with exceptional skills to compete for leadership positions in the cooperatives. Many cooperatives in western India emerged due to the initiative of their members. In the sugar co-ops of western India, each share is linked to the annual supply of cane from one-half acre of land. Many sugar and dairy cooperatives have paid increasingly higher prices for farm products supplied by their members and have repaid on time the fixed capital loans borrowed from government and financial agencies.
