Determinants of Multipurpose Cooperative Member Participation in Agricultural Output Marketing: Kersa District, Jimma Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Rusha Begna Wakweya

doi:10.7176/jmcr/76-02

Abstract

This study assessed determinants of multipurpose cooperatives members’ participation in agricultural output marketing at kersa district of Jimma zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. A two-stage sampling procedummre was used and 4 multipurpose cooperatives were selected to obtain a sample size of 196 cooperative members. Quantitative and Qualitative data were collected through household survey, key informant interview, focus group discussions and personal observations. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics like mean, chi-square, standard deviation, frequency, percentage and binary logit model. The result showed that 66.36% of cooperative members were participants in agricultural output marketing where as 33.64% were non-participants. The binary logit model result showed that age, education, landholding, change in standard of living due to joining of cooperative, membership in other cooperatives other than Multipurpose Cooperatives, determined participation decision of members in agricultural output marketing positively and significantly while the other four variables determined negatively and significantly. In general, the agricultural output marketing of multipurpose cooperative members in the study area has been affected by different demographic, socio-economics and institutional factors. Therefore, the study suggested that as Woreda cooperatives promotion agency should also help these cooperatives to increase members’ participation in agricultural inputs as well as outputs and create linkages with financial institutions to solve their shortage of capital. Keywords: Output marketing, Participation, Members, Multipurpose cooperative, Ethiopia DOI: 10.7176/JMCR/76-02 Publication date: February 28 th 2021

Highlights

As agriculture continues to be an important sector to the Ethiopian economy, the cooperative sub-sector provides vital support services and plays a crucial role for the transformation of the agriculture (Navarra et al, 2017)
Econometric analysis was employed to identify the most important factors that influence the participation of member in the agricultural output marketing activity made by the primary cooperative societies
Selected explanatory variables were used to estimate the binary logistic regression model to analyze the factors affecting of MPC member participation decision in agricultural output marketing of multipurpose cooperatives to estimate the effects of the hypothesized explanatory variables on the probabilities of being participant or not participant in multipurpose cooperatives

Summary

Introduction

As agriculture continues to be an important sector to the Ethiopian economy, the cooperative sub-sector provides vital support services and plays a crucial role for the transformation of the agriculture (Navarra et al, 2017). Ethiopia is among the countries in this region where agriculture plays a vital role in the economy (Wanyama et al, 2009). The Ethiopian government places a very strong prominence on promoting cooperatives as one of the main organizational mechanisms to facilitate farmer access to inputs, credit, output markets and to improve coordination within the smallholder sector (Tefera et al, 2016).This has led to a substantial growth in the number of cooperatives and in the total number of members over the last decade. From 2008 until 2013, the number of unions grew by 44% (Royer et al, 2017).Linking smallholder farmers to output markets is one of the main challenges in developing countries like Ethiopia. Several scholars argue that the necessary action will not be achieved by market mechanisms alone, especially in rural areas with thin markets (Dorward et al, 2004, Doner et al, 2005, Narrod et al, 2009)

Methods

Results

Conclusion