The cooperatives of Castilla y León achieved a turnover of 3,962 million euros in the 2022-2023 financial year, 2.6%; highlighting those of herbaceous crops that invoiced 1,077 million euros; animal feed, with 678.6 million euros and supplies with 717 million, according to data from the Socioeconomic Observatory of Cooperatives (OSCAE) carried out by Urcacyl. Only 10.3% of members are under 40 years old.
By province, the one with the highest turnover was Zamora with 678.9 million euros, followed by Valladolid with 715.4 million euros and Palencia with 642 million euros.
In this study carried out by Urcacyl, it is observed that The number of members belonging to the cooperatives is currently 35,670taking into account that many of these participate in several cooperatives in different sectors. In any case, the number of members is gradually decreasing as the agricultural holdings in the region are reduced, but their cooperative activity is growing. Of these partners, 79.9% are men and 20.1% women, a reflection of what happens in the field. On the other hand, 89.7% of these farmers and ranchers are over 40 years old and 10.3% are under that age. “There is generational change but it is scarce; although it is true that those who join cooperatives do so with farms of more hectares or with a greater volume of livestock,” they say from Urcacyl.
Regarding the number of workers in agri-food cooperatives, it is estimated at 4,037 direct employees to whom several thousand more would have to be added in transportation, maintenance and services. The degree of professionalization of these workers and the fact that 8.2% of them have higher degrees in engineering and veterinary medicinewhich highlights the effort made by cooperatives in providing services to their members with field and farm technicians.
Last 25 years
If we broaden the focus, we see that in 2000, the global cooperativism of Castilla y León had a turnover of 865 million euros, compared to 3,962 million euros today, which has more than quadrupled its business volume. .
At the beginning of the new century we had in the Cooperatives of 51,000 farmer and rancher members, and currently we have 35,670 members, 30% less, following the trend that has occurred throughout the agricultural sector in terms of number of farms. However, the members integrated into the cooperatives, in that period of time, have gone from an average of 16,960 euros in activity with the cooperative in 2000 to 110,073.
In the case of the number of employees, in 2000 they had 1,450 workers and now they have 4,037 with a high percentage of higher graduates.
Urcacyl considers that in this period of time, cooperatives have become more professional, they have diversified their activities and services towards members and many of them have begun the transformation of their products, which has allowed them continuous growth.
This has contributed the incorporation and growth, among members and among cooperatives, of innovation and new technologies, which have allowed the former to obtain higher production per hectare and per head of livestock, and the latter to initiate new activities, open new markets, provide differentiated services to their partners and address transformation processes for their products. All of this has allowed them to be more efficient at an economic, social and environmental level.
Growth has also been a consequence of greater formal training in member studies and participation in continuous training, often with the collaboration of Urcacyl. It should be noted that in this period under analysis, the entity taught an average of 52 courses per year, with 1,674 students present each year.
This growth has also been influenced by some policies conducive to cooperativism, carried out by the administration. The aid from the old APAS, the Aid from OPs and OPFH, the Aid to Priority Associative Entities and above all aid to cooperatives, which in 2000 exceeded three million euros, and through them the hiring of technical personnel, the implementation of computer systems, the performance of audits and investment analysis, the publication of catalogs and promotional material, the incorporation from members to cooperatives…
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