The Role and Economic Position of Cooperatives in Sustainable Rural Development Planning (Case Study: Qeshm Island Fisheries Cooperatives)

Human resource development plays an important role in eradicating poverty. Half of the world's population lives in rural areas suffering from high levels of poverty, malnutrition and low literacy. Fixing the grievances of this massive population through informed planning and sustainable development. Sustainable rural development is the process of promoting the full enjoyment of rural life through the orientation and encouragement of activities consistent with the capabilities and constraints of the environment (in its general sense). Thus, structural underlays in the four general environmental-ecological, socio-cultural, economic-political and physical-spatial aspects can lead to the proper functioning of this process. Sustainable rural development, in turn, is realized with the participation of villagers in decision-making, implementation, sharing of benefits and monitoring and evaluation. Hence, cooperatives, through their collaborative spirit, are considered as tools for the development of marginalized communities. Diversity is the basis of stability and as much as a system becomes more diverse, its sustainability and dynamism over time and in different places are maintained against internal and external tensions.Today, the diversification of the rural economy is one of the approaches taken to realize sustainable rural development. A special role of cooperatives as one of the most important sectors of the economy has become more recent and more serious as the Supreme Leader declares. An examination of existing cooperatives suggests that they cannot be efficient and effective with existing structures and, ultimately, have a dynamic and desirable function that ensures its survival and long-term durability. The present study was conducted to investigate and compare the efficiency and effectiveness of fisheries cooperatives in the northern and southern coasts of Qeshm Island. The research method was descriptive and the statistical population included 13 fisheries cooperatives (include active and passive) in Qeshm Island. The statistical data were collected by survey method and by collecting and completing the questionnaire, referring to the documents of the cooperative companies and the Fisheries Department and interviewing members of the cooperatives and fishery experts. Data analysis was performed using Spss and Excel software. According to research results, about 21% of cooperatives were active and the rest were almost inactive. The rate of efficiency, productivity, and investment of the first co-operative fisheries on the South Coast was higher than that of the North Coast co-operatives. Also, the net profits and net profits of the South Coast co-operatives were greater than the co-operatives on the North Coast. In the present study, it was revealed that the structure and functioning of the fishery cooperatives based on Qeshm Island did not comply with the general rules and regulations of cooperatives, which had a negative effect on their efficiency and effectiveness.