Cooperative Societies and their Effect on Small Scale Farmers’ Sustainable Livelihood: A Rwandan Perspective

Abstract

Cooperatives societies remain crucial components of sustainable economic development in developing countries especially in Sub-Saharan African Countries. Despite the very important role assigned to cooperatives societies in Rwanda, little is known about their effect on small scale farmers’ sustainable livelihoods. Primary data have been collected in Huye District of Rwanda using structured questionnaire from 126 small farmers’ members of cooperatives societies and 174 non-members of cooperatives societies. The study sought to examine the effect of cooperative societies on small farm households’ sustainable livelihood and to analyze the relationship between participation in cooperative society and socio-economic characteristics of small scale farmers. Both descriptive statistics and Pearson Chi-Square Test were used to analyze the data. The study has indicated that small farmers who participated in cooperative societies have increased their income, have paid school fees for their children and have accessed to affordable credit and banking services compared to non-members. The results showed also that the main reasons for not participating in cooperatives societies are lack of information, no interest and insufficient capacity. The results from Pearson Chi-Square Test indicated that household age, household marital status, household main occupation and household size land were statistically significant and showed a strong relationship between small scale farmers’ cooperative membership, whereas household gender and household education were not statistically significant. This study concludes that cooperatives societies have played a fundamental role in sustainable development of Rwandan economy and have contributed considerably to small scale farmers’ empowerment in terms of increasing their wellbeing and access to credit facilities. The study recommends that both public and private sectors should support farmers’ cooperatives for agricultural extension and development.