B"H

Jewish Tours

Buenos Aires, Argentina

ARGENTINA

ARGENTINA, South American Federal Republic, general population (2004) 39,150,000; Jewish population 190,000.

Agricultural Cooperatives

The first agricultural cooperative in Argentina was established in the Jewish colony of Lucienville in the Entre Riós province. It was founded on Aug. 12, 1900, on the initiative of Leon Nemirovsky, agronomist and administrator of ICA under the name of Primera Sociedad Agrícola Israelita, and still exists under the name Sociedad Agrícola Lucienville. The cooperative's activities began with the purchase of seeds and supplies necessary for harvest, thus freeing its members from exploitation by merchants. Thereafter the following cooperatives were established with ICA's moral and financial support: Fondo Comunal in the Clara and San Antonio colonies (1904); Mutua Agrícola (Agricultural Mutual Fund) in Moisesville (1908); Barón Hirsch in Rivera (1910); and Unión Cooperativa Agrícola in Narcisse Leven (1910). In the course of time, all of these cooperatives developed many programs to protect the material interests of their members, satisfy their cultural and social needs, and represent them in conflicts with ICA. In 1910 a congress of the cooperatives' representatives was held in Buenos Aires. The congress laid the foundations of the Confederación Agrícola Israelita Argentina.

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