The large-scale general census operation of cooperatives aims to update the global database of cooperatives and enrich it with recent and diversified information.
A general census of cooperatives and their unions will be launched on 8 March in the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, with a view to measuring their economic benefits and their impact in achieving sustainable human development, it was indicated, Monday in Tangier, by the Office for the Development of Cooperation (ODCO).
This large-scale operation, carried out by the ODCO under the aegis of the Ministry of Handicrafts and Social and Solidarity Economy, aims to update the global database of cooperatives and enrich it with recent and diversified information, the identification of the impact of cooperatives and their contributions to national aggregates, notably GDP, national investments, and job creation, affirmed the regional delegate of the ODCO in Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Jamal Nowas.
It also aims to integrate women and young people into the labour market and the production dynamic, said Jamal Nowas during an awareness day organised for the presentation of this census, highlighting the important role of cooperatives in the fight against certain scourges, notably poverty, illiteracy, exclusion, and the informal sector.
For his part, the head of the economic service of the ODCO in Rabat, Mohamed Hillali, affirmed that this project finds its foundations in the consistent evolution of the number of cooperatives, which has multiplied by five since the last general census of cooperatives carried out in 1998, specifying that in 18 years, the number of cooperatives has gone from 2,986 to 15,735 at the end of February 2016.
Mohamed Hillali also indicated that this general census, which will span a period of 6 months and will concern all the regions of the Kingdom, aims to collect recent and detailed data on the cooperative sector in Morocco, whatever their activities, including socio-professional, economic, and organisational indicators.
Other information of equal importance will also be collected concerning the current difficulties and problems of cooperatives, the characteristics and state of play of cooperatives, as well as the effective contribution of national development programmes in the improvement, development, and creation of cooperatives, notably the National Initiative for Human Development and the Green Morocco Plan, he added.
This national operation, the results of which should contribute to improving knowledge relating to the Moroccan cooperative system and will be made available to the various stakeholders in the sector, will be carried out in several stages, among others, the realisation of a pilot survey in the field at the level of two regions, the organisation of awareness and information campaigns, and the training for five days of the teams of researchers designated for the realisation of this census.
