The Chairman of the SS.Izmir Village Coop Union, Neptün Soyer who talks on the seventh and last day of the Second Century Economics Congress organized by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, made clarificaitons  about the history of cooperatives in Turkey. Soyer who emphasizes that a century after the First Economics Congress, manufacturers used their right to speak, said “We are very proud to have a word here again after 100 years.
The seventh and last day of the Second Century Economic Congress, calling on the whole of Turkey to build a future with the slogan "Invitation to Novelty" by the Metropolitan City of Izmir, continued with the presentation of  Yekta Kopan.
The President of İzmir Village Cooperatives Union , Neptün Soyer also spoke at the congress, which was hosted by İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer, held at the Ahmed Adnan Saygun Art Center (AASSM) and continued with the theme of "Invitation to Multiplicity and Unity". Neptün Soyer made a presentation with the title of “The Organized Power of the Peasant Increasing by Uniting in Cooperatives”.
“We are very proud to have our word again after 100 years”
Soyer, the first female president of Izmir village cooperatives union and the chairman of the board of directors, said: "After 100 years, the producers and agriculture finally get the recognition they deserve. We work with 116 cooperative units and thousands of farmer partners in the countryside to achieve this. ".
Soyer started her speech by describing the cooperative.” The cooperative is an economic constitution  to supply that needs of human are met through mutual aid and to guard the interests of partners. The cooperative is a perfect solidarity organization which fulfills the tasks what individuals cannot cope with individually. After a period that was disrupted by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk-inspired cooperative movement that began in 1920, Izmir experienced a major progress in the 1960s. There are also living presidents who show us the way of this development”  and continued her speech.
 
President Soyer evoked those who are cooperatives.
Soyer who speaks about the purpose of cooperatives in the session, adduced from the works of the founders of Village Coop, Bademli Agricultural Development Cooperative Founding President Mustafa Başer and Prof. Dr. Ziya Gökalp of Mülayim. Within the context of Soyer's presentation, Filiz Türkmenoğlu's speech by Mahmut Türkmenoğlu, who got cooperatives together with science and politics, was also watched by the participators.
“Although the roots of cooperatives extend to collective work , The first seeds were planted by Atatürk.”
Soyer, “"'I definitely think, there's strength in unity. The cooperative is to aggregate material and non material  forces, intelligence and proficiencies. Otherwise, I'm not making reference to the union of the weak and the strong. This kind of unity means the enslavement of the weak by the strong. In these statements, Soyer remarked that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk explained the importance of cooperatives in Izmir in the first years of the republic. Although the roots of cooperatives extend to collective work , The first seeds were planted by Atatürk with the foundations of the young republic. In 1920, when many parts of the country were under military occupation, Atatürk was confident that he would save the country by war and then establish the Republic of Turkey as a new state. Before commencing  the War of Independence to establish the new state, he started the economic struggle. Atatürk prepared himself the draft law on cooperative companies in order to develop cooperatives, which he saw as one of the most crucial components in this economic struggle and presented to parliament.
“There is no such world leader”
Soyer who states  Atatürk attached importance to the economic struggle as much as the military struggle, told that “There is no such world leader. Even though the Cooperative companies draft of a law prepared by Atatürk  was not fully legalised , the draft was discussed and voted in the General Assembly of the Assembly on December 28, 1920. The fifth provision of this draft law is very important. The Fifth provision; It has a special importance in terms of the village , farming and, of course, the future of agriculture. The fifth provision is as follows: The directors and officers of agriculture, the chambers of agriculture,the trade and industry managers and all teachers are liable to assist the villagers on the establishment of cooperatives and to equipped them with the necessary information. The Officials and teachers who do not fulfill this, they are deemed to have not done their duty.”
“The enormous problems were solved with cooperation, patience and the persistent aims  of cooperative leaders”
Soyer touched upon the education shaped in line with the demands of the farmers at the Economics Congress, and the demand for everyone who attends schools and higher education in the villages to be a teacher for one year. “Atatürk's Rural – Urban Transformation in the Villages, which commenced in 1920  was crowned with the establishment of village institutes in 1940 and the transformation has commenced in the countryside. Thanks to the institutions that Atatürk was the architect, the poor peasants of Anatolia meet the cooperative, thanks to cooperatives, he sees that they can overcome economic difficulties together. When we come to the 1950s, the cooperative movement that improved with the young republicare pushed into the background. The Village institutes are closed, In agriculture, the order that condemns the poor peasants to the landlords is maintained. However, Cooperatives were a real need for Turkey, whose agricultural production was based on small producers. In the 1960s, a revival movement begins in cooperatives, which are indispensable for both peasants and an independent country's economy. The seeds of cooperatives planted by Atatürk in Anatolian lands are the basis to this movement. Every social movement has a leader who will plant its first seed in the ground. The duty of bringing the seeds of cooperatives to the fertile lands of İzmir falls to Mahmut Türkmenoğlu in Bademler Village. The cooperative which was established by Türkmenoğlu in Bademler Village was one of its first waves would grow like an avalanche. While the Bademler Cooperative is established and developed , the new cooperatives comprises from Peninsula to Kozak Plateau , up to the Menderes Plain. The work does not end with constructing  cooperative. Sometimes there is no water, sometimes there is no a machine, sometimes there is no money. These are the enormous problems but will be solved with cooperation, patience and the persistent aims  of cooperative leaders. Thanks to the cooperative, what the villagers imagine will come true one by one with their own efforts. The Movements similar to those in Izmir has occured everywhere in Turkey.”
“Our İzmir Village Coop Union selected to the administration the woman who is hand in hand with the man in our logo”
Soyer who talks about the concept of equality in the cooperative system, said these statements “  “It also applies to gender equality. A Man and a woman who work intensely in agriculture go hand in hand, In the 1970s, the Izmir Village Coop Union logo . Unfortunately, women's leadership and voice in cooperatives is still a problem that we need to talk about because it is not realized enough how significant it is. İzmir, the leading city of our country,exhibits its difference here as well. Women are more involved in every social, economic and cultural field than in other provinces.For instance ; today , They has choosen the woman who is hand in hand with the man in our logo. However, this situation needs to be spread all over Turkey. The 48 percent of working people at 24.00  are women and 52 percent are men. This is interesting. The closest sector to this ratio is the service industry. The rate of women working in the service industry is 28 percent. However, from the perspective of social rights in agriculture; the ratio diminish suddenly to 20%. I would like to evoke you with sadness that we have not made much advance in obtaining the social rights of women in agriculture. As in politics and industry”
Neptün Soyer summoned the cooperative partners and producers in the hall to the stage at the end of his speech.