Socio-economic and institutional determinants of membership in Agricultural Marketing Co-operative Societies in Mvomero and Kilombero districts, Tanzania

Abstract

Membership in Agricultural Marketing Co-operative Societies (AMCOS) benefits farmers through strengthened bargaining power in marketing and better access to other support services including access to agricultural inputs. Despite the benefits of AMCOS, many farmers have not joined AMCOS. Some farmers are reluctant to join AMCOS while others are dropping out. This study, therefore, specifically examined socio-economic and institutional determinants of farmers’ decision to join AMCOS in Mvomero and Kilombero districts. This study adopted a cross-sectional design whereby 340 farmer respondents were interviewed. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, comparative, and binary regression analysis. The findings showed that age, education, credit services, the amount of credit accessed, farm input, marketing, and price information were significant determinants of farmers’ decision to join AMCOS. The study recommends that AMCOS management should improve the services they offer and reduce the cost of membership to attract more farmers to access their services. Also, the District Co-operatives Officers and AMCOS managers should carry out public awareness campaigns and educate the farmers on the importance of co-operatives as the findings showed that some farmers were not informed about co-operative societies.