생협 경제사업의 성과와 정책과제

Abstract

우리나라 생협은 친환경농산물을 조합원에게 공급하는 경제사업과 안전한 먹거리를 위한 소비자운동을 비롯하여 친환경농산물 소비의 조직화라는 조직활동의 두 축을 주요 사업으로 활동해 왔다.

소비자단체인 생협이 친환경농산물 유통을 경제사업으로 채택한 이유는 소비자의 안전한 식품에 대한 요구 때문이다. 생협이 안전한 식품을 취급하면서 소비자가 스스로 참여하고 적극적인 홍보를 수행하며 결속력 강한 소비자조직과 경제사업의 인적·물적 인프라를 구축하였다. 또한 생협은 농업문제를 생산자와 소비자의 파트너십을 유지하는 도농상생의 관계로 해결하고자 하였다. 생산자의 소득을 보장하기 위해 소비자와 공동으로 가격안정기금을 조성하고 직거래로 유통단계를 줄여 소비자에게 저렴한 가격으로 제공하는 방법이다. 특히 2010년 가을 배추 가격폭등 당시 생협의 가격시스템이 주류 언론에 보도되며 관심의 대상이 되었는데 그 핵심은 ‘직거래’와 ‘계약재배’이다.

이 연구는 우리나라 생협이 경제사업에서 이룬 인적·물적 인프라 구축과 사업 전략의 성과를 바탕으로 우리 사회에서 지속가능한 농업생산과 소비를 추구하기 위한 필요한 정책과제를 제시하는데 목적이 있다.

The purpose of study is to draw the significance of C.C's business in Korean society and to present policy task that is needed to promote sustainable agricultural production and consumption by analyzing the fruit such as establishment of infrastructure of C.C's business and the influence that C.C's business has on agriculture and farmers. C.C has performed mainly centering on two axises namely business that aims to provide eco-friendly agricultural products to C.C's members and activities of organization such as consumer initiative for safe food and promotion of consuming eco-friendly agricultural products. The relation between sustainable agricultural production and consumption shown in C.C's business is as follows. First, C.C enhances stability of production by increasing contract cultivation and operating production & price stabilization fund with consumers. C.C secures economic efficiency by reducing unnecessary distribution cost through establishment of national distribution system and efficient distribution which enables producers to stably produce farm products and C.C's members to purchase agricultural products at reasonable price. Second, C.C secures safety by establishing transparent and fair transaction system such as attestation system and distribution system certification and supplying consumers with eco-friendly agricultural products. C.C has secured loyal customers without sales promotion by supplying reliable and good quality products to customers. Third, C.C is taking the initiative in protection of the environment by actively participating in promotion to increase the consumption of eco-friendly agricultural products and food safety. As a matter of fact, keen interest in protection of the environment led C.C to be born. Environment - conscious consumers support sustainable production and consumption, producer's economic efficiency and consumer's safety. C.C has established win-win system between producers and consumers through efficient business and organization for the 20 years. C.C has established self sufficient economic system and consolidated production, distribution and consumption through efficient distribution system and cooperation between producers and consumers based on strong trust between them. In addition, C.C has contributed to increasing production of eco-friendly agricultural products and transaction by raising production and price stabilization fund to promote sustainable production by increasing contract cultivation of eco-friendly agricultural products. The fruit of C.C's business can be utilized to prepare agricultural policy society that aims for sustainable agricultural production and consumption should have. Suggestions to utilize fruit of C.C's business are as follows. First, producers and consumers should be effectively organized for sustainable transaction. Producers make an effort to produce high quality agricultural products by focusing on production & quality management and consumers participate in promotion activities that aim to form farm product prices that enable producers to make ends meet. Second, contract cultivation should be encouraged and supported in order to enhance price stabilization and direct transaction. As contract cultivation requires strong trust between producers and consumers, lots of efforts to build trust are needed. Thus, organizational structure of agricultural cooperative should be improved according to business method. For example, item-based agricultural cooperative can be helpful in maintaining production and getting producers together such as management of supply and demand and exchange of production and technology information. Regional agricultural cooperatives can be helpful in building a strategic foothold for exchange with consumers and maintaining rural community. Third, price stabilization fund should be operated so that government, local self-governing body and consumer can bear production risk by improving present farm-product price system in which only producers bear production risk. It is necessary that item-based agricultural cooperatives should take charge of contract cultivation which is conducted by regional agricultural cooperatives to raise fund for stabilizing supply and demand. In addition, it is necessary that the fund for stabilizing farm-product price should be used to relieve price fluctuation caused by production risk. Fourth, social cost should be reduced by improving national agricultural product distribution system. In the past, price was determined by direct contact between purchasers and producers but at present pricing and transaction are possible over the phone. The separation of upstream and distribution is important in enhancing logistics efficiency. The establishment of new information system is needed to separate upstream and distribution in transaction of agricultural products. The development and utilization of reliable information on supply and demand are required to boost transaction as limited information on supply and demand can have a negative influence on transaction.

Researchers: Jeong, Eun-Mee, Dong-Hoon Kim, Kim, Moon-Myoung E-mail address: jeongem@krei.re.kr