Farmer Cooperation and Performance of Smallholder Farmers: A Case Study of Kasawo-Namuganga Development Association.

Abstract

SSENKINDU EDWARD (2014-M102-20006) Farmer Cooperation and Performance of Smallholder Farmers: A Case Study of Kasawo-Namuganga Development Association. Evidence from East Africa and Asia shows that farmer cooperation has the capacity to improve their performance; however, there have been few such studies in Uganda. The objective of the study was to establish if farmer cooperation affects smallholder farmers‟ performance. Kasawo Namuganga Development Association (KANADA) Area Cooperative Enterprise (ACE) was used as a case study for the research where a cross sectional research design survey was used with a sample of 244 respondents selected for the study using systematic random and purposive sampling techniques. The study was both qualitative and quantitative in nature, and data was collected using questionnaires, interviews and backed by documentary sources and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings of the study showed that there was a statistically significant positive relationship between cooperation during input purchase, collective marketing, collective access to extension services and collective access to information and smallholder farmer performance as measured through productivity, profitability and growth. This implies that farmer cooperation can be utilised to boost smallholder farmer performance. Based on the findings, it is recommended that leaders and managers of cooperatives should ensure that there is effective cooperation among smallholder farmers so as to enhance their performance; the cooperatives are also advised to continuously sensitise members about the benefits of cooperation, open a full time agro-input shop to enable members to access inputs all the time, access financing so as to timely pay members who market produce through the ACE and also re-invent its self so as to remain relevant in the changing operating conditions while also providing other social and economic benefits to its members so as to impact on smallholder performance. Key Words: Farmer Cooperation, Small holder Farmers, Kasawo-Namuganga Development Association.