DRIVERS OF SUSTAINABILITY OF AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES IN KENYA: A CASE OF MACHAKOS COUNTY
Abstract
Kenya has a long history of cooperative development and is recognized by the government to be a major contributor to national development, as they are found in almost all sectors of the economy. The Kenya’s population participates directly or indirectly in cooperative-based enterprises. According to the government of Kenya, it is estimated that 80 per cent of Kenya’s population derives their income either directly or indirectly through cooperative activities. Although significant progress has been made in the establishment of agricultural cooperatives, sustainability is a major challenge for majority of these cooperatives. The performance and sustainability of these cooperatives in Kenya, have been debatable, since the number of cooperatives becoming dormant (have actually closed down) is increasing over time. This study sought to establish the determinants of sustainability of agricultural cooperatives in Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were to examine how managerial skills, access to finance, stakeholder involvement and competitive environment affect sustainability of agricultural cooperatives in Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive design and the target population was 750 staff (senior and middle level management) of agricultural cooperatives drawn from different sub-counties in Machakos County. The sample size for the study was 80 respondents. A stratified sampling technique was carried out by involving all the targeted respondents and primary data was collected through the use of questionnaires. The secondary data was obtained from published documents such as journals, periodicals, magazines and reports to supplement the primary data. A pilot study was conducted for the data collection instrument. The data was with help of SPSS version 21 and Excel. The study adopted a correlation and regression analysis at 5% level of significance to determine strength and direction of the relationship of the variables under study. The regression analysis showed that managerial skills had the strongest positive (Pearson correlation coefficient =.875) influence on sustainability of agricultural cooperatives. In addition, access to finance, competitive environment and stakeholder involvement were positively correlated to sustainability of agricultural cooperatives with Pearson correlation coefficient of .581, .690 and .806 with p-values of .009<0.05, .008<0.05 and .006<0.05 respectively. The study established that managerial skills were the most significant factor. The study recommends for similar studies to be undertaken in other agricultural organizations in Kenya for generalization of the findings of this study.
Key Words: Sustainability, Agricultural Cooperatives, Managerial skills, Stakeholder Participation, Access to Finance, Competitive Environment
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Bataille-Chedotel, F Y Huntzinger F (2004) “Directivos y gobierno de lascooperativasobreras de producción”,CIRIEC-España, no 48.
Bendick, M and M.L. Egan.2005. “Worker Ownership and Participation Enhances Economic Development in Low-Opportunity Communities”. Journal of Community Practice2(1):61-85.
Birchall, J. (2004), Co-operatives and the Millennium Development Goals, ILO,
Brennan, M.A. and A.E. Luloff. 2005. “A Cooperative Approach to Rural Development in Ireland: Cultural Artifacts and the Irish Diaspora as an Example”. Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education. (forthcoming).
Cawley, M., S. Gaffey, and D. Gilmor. 1999. "The Role of Quality Tourism and Craft SMEs in Rural Development: Evidence from the Republic of Ireland". Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research10(1):45-60.
Chambers, R & Conway, G. (2006) Sustainable rural livelihoods: Practical concepts for the 21 st century. IDS Discussion Paper 296. Brighton: IDS.
Chaves, R and Sajardo, A (2004) “Social Economy Managers: between values and entrenchment”, Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Vol 75, No 1, pp139-161
Christenson, J.A. and J.W. Robinson. 1986. Community Development in Perspective. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press.
Coggon D. Rose G. and Barker D. (1997).Epidemiology for the Uninitiated: Case-control and cross sectional studies. British Medical Journal
Cornforth, C (ed) (2006) The governance of non-profit organisations, Routledge, Londres.
Duncombe, R &Heeks, R. (2005) Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs), Poverty Reduction and Micro, Small & Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs): A framework for understanding ICT applications for MSMEs in developing countries, Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM). TheUniversity of Manchester.
Evans, A. C. (2002), The Unpaved Road Ahead: HIV/AIDS & Microfinance: An Exploration of Kenya Credit Unions (SACCOs), Research Monograph Series No. 21, World Council of Credit Unions, Madison, Wisconsin
Gordon, J. 2004. "Non-traditional Analysis of Co-operative Economic Impacts: Preliminary Indicators and a Case Study". Review of International Co-operation97(1):6-47.
Hulme, K. and Edwards, P. (2004) “Governance in democratic member-based organisations”, Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Vol 75, No 1, pp33-59.
International Cooperative Alliance (2004) http://www.coop.org/ Accessed on 2 March 2008.
International Monetary Fund (2007) Kenya: Poverty Reduction Strategy Annual Progress Report.2004/2005, IMF Country Report No. 07/159, International Monetary Fund. Washington, D.C.
Jodahl, T. 2006. "Consumer Co-operatives in Norway".Review of International Co-operation96(1):9-16.
Luloff, A.E., and J. Bridger.2006. "Community Agency and Local Development". Pp. 203-213 in, Challenges for Rural America in the Twenty-First Century, edited by D. Brown and L. Swanson. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.
Madane, M. 2002. "Co-operative Rejuvenation Through Self-help Groups and Other Alternatives". Review of International Co-operation95(1):104-114.
Michels, R (1911) Political parties: a sociological study of the oligarchical tendencies of modern democracy (Spanish version: 1969, Amorrortu, Buenos Aires)
Ministry of Information & Communications (2006), 2006 Kenya ICT Strategy: Collaboration & Outsourcing for Economic Growth.
Mudibo, E.K. (2005), “Highlights of the SACCO movement and current trends in the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives (KUSCCO)’, KUSCCO, Nairobi.
MungaiWainaina (2005) Using ICTs for Poverty Reduction and Environmental protection in Kenya: The “M-vironment” Approach, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).
Neuman, W.L (2000). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Boston: Allyn and Bacon Publishers
Okello, D. (2006) ‘Open Access’ An approach for building and financing pro-poor ICT infrastructure Propoor Community-driven Networks Seminar, 17 August 2006, Hotel Africana, Kampala.
Phillips, R. 2004. "Artful Business: Using the Arts for Community Economic Development". Community Development Journal39(2):112-22.
Republic of Kenya (2007) “Medium Term Expenditure Framework 2007/2008-2009/2010”, Report for the Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) Sector.
Research Report 177, Duffey, P. (ed.). Washington, D.C., United States Department of Agriculture: 1-4.
Reynolds, A. (2000) ‘The Impact of New Generation Cooperatives on Their Communities.’RBS
Romer, P. (1993) Ideas gap and object gaps in economic development, Journal of Monetary Economics, Vol. 32, pp. 543-573.
Shragge, E and Fontan, J M (ed) (2004) Social Economy. Internacional debates and perspectives, Black Rose Books, London
Spear, R (2004) “Governance in democratic member-based organisations”, Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Vol 75, No 1, pp33-59.
Stiglitz, J.E. (2006) ‘Economic Organization, Information and Development’, in J. Behrman and T.N. Srinivasan (eds.), Handbook of Development Economics, Vol.1. Amsterdam: North Holland.
The Kenya High Commission in the United Kingdom (2007) Newsletter Issue 2 - April 2007.
The Ministry of Information & Communications (2006), Kenya is Running: Creating prosperity through innovation.
USDA – Rural Business Cooperative Service. 2005. Marketing Cooperative by Type, Memberships and Sales. http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coops/data.htm (Accessed february 4, 2013).
Verma, S.K. (2004) “Cooperative Centenary in India”, New Sector Magazine, Issue No 61, April/ May 2004.
Wilkinson, K.P. 2002.The Community in Rural America. New York, NY: Greenwood Press, 2002.
World Bank (2000) World Development Report. New York, Oxford University Press.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v3i2.243
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
PAST ISSUES:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.