As rural decline emerges as a pressing social issue, calls for agricultural cooperatives to strengthen their role as the focal point of rural communities by providing enhanced social services have grown louder. Recognizing this social responsibility, cooperatives have identified "funding" as a primary challenge.

At the "Road to Agriculture and Rural Areas 2024" symposium held on October 30 at the aT Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul, the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF) division engaged in a discussion on the theme of "The Role and Challenges of Agricultural Cooperatives in Responding to Rural Decline."

The symposium highlighted the need for cooperatives to significantly strengthen the locally-oriented social services they have been providing, as a means to address rural decline.

An Sang-don, a research fellow at the NACF's Future Strategy Research Institute, emphasized, "To meet the growing social demand for cooperative welfare services, agricultural cooperatives must strengthen their role as 'community centers' that embrace both members and local residents. However, the current approach of relying solely on cooperative funds or interest-free loans from the central federation cannot guarantee the sustainability of such initiatives."

In fact, the 13 elderly welfare centers currently operated by agricultural cooperatives have received an average of 4.6 billion won in interest-free loans from the NACF over the past three years. An urged, "To address the funding issue, cooperatives must collaborate with the government and local governments to jointly provide services and secure funding based on the fulfillment of welfare outcomes."

The rural-urban symbiosis fund was also suggested as a solution to the funding problem. If urban cooperatives contribute to this fund with the goal of supporting social services for rural cooperatives, it could achieve a "two-bird-with-one-stone" effect by both addressing the funding issue and strengthening the identity of urban cooperatives.

In light of the declining birthrate, the role of cooperatives in rural childcare services has recently come to the fore. The lack of childcare facilities in rural areas is a serious issue, with 89.9% of areas without childcare centers located in rural fishing villages as of the end of last year. Although some cooperatives have been operating childcare centers and childcare facilities to address this issue, they have faced difficulties such as increased deficits and temporary suspension of operations due to difficulties in securing funding.

As an alternative, it was proposed that the government and local governments provide funding for rural childcare services, while cooperatives with offices nationwide provide the necessary facilities. Choi Young-woon, a research fellow at the NACF's Future Strategy Research Institute, stated, "Expanding public childcare centers is costly, so expanding childcare facilities utilizing cooperative infrastructure is a more flexible response strategy."

Kim Eun-seol, a senior researcher at the Childcare Policy Research Institute, emphasized the need for the government to provide incentives for childcare workers in rural areas.