Participation of the specialized cooperative system «Plodospilka» in procurement and marketing of the industry’s products during the NEP years

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the key aspects of procurement and marketing activities carried out by the specialized cooperative system «Plodospilka» during the years of the New Economic Policy. Based on extensive factual material and statistical data, the study examines the activities of fruit and vegetable cooperation in the field of procurement and marketing of industry’s products, aimed at increasing the marketability and profitability of their primary producers – Ukrainian peasants. It is emphasized that agricultural cooperation managed, within a relatively short period, to master a new area of activity – economic operations related to the procurement of horticultural and vegetable-growing products – and clearly demonstrated how so-called «secondary»branches of largely traditional peasant farming could be effectively integrated into market relations. The article highlights that the establishment of «Plodospilka» (as well as similar structures in other sectors of the economy) stimulated entrepreneurial initiative among individual farm owners and contributed to the overall intensification of cooperative processes within the peasantry. It is shown that cooperative specialists worked efficiently and productively. They convincingly demonstrated how effective, market-adapted engagement in vegetable-growing and horticulture could serve as a source of substantial income and support the financial stability of peasant households, providing resources for further progressive development. It is proven that the role of «Plodospilka» in increasing agricultural production gradually but steadily grew. The union continuously expanded the geographical scope of its product distribution and demonstrated economic success, including the scaling up of procurement and marketing operations. Based on the conducted research, there are grounds to conclude that the curtailment of the NEP in the late 1920s had an extremely negative impact (especially in the early years of collectivization) on the prospects for balanced agricultural development in the Ukrainian SSR.