Socio–economic impacts of farmer cooperatives on the production and marketing of coffee in Busulani sub-county, Sironko district

Abstract

The study was carried out in Busulani sub-county titled: “Social Economic Impact of Farmer cooperatives on the Production and Marketing of coffee in Busulani Sub-County, Sironko District. The study was guided by the following objectives to: (i) to show the roles of cooperatives’ involvement in productivity of coffee; (ii) Assess the farmer’s level of adaptability to new technological innovations in production of coffee; (iii) Analyse the strategies applied by cooperatives in Busulani sub-county for marketing coffee;(iv) and lastly, to state the challenges that farmers face in the cooperative. A qualitative case study was used in the study. A population sample size of 80. The research data was collected using majorly questionnaires. Growing of Arabica type of coffee was the main economic activity in the region. Small scale farmers were involved growing in cooperative unions which played a key role for promoting coffee production for example improving quality stands to meet market needs both locally and internationally and maintaining high yield. Failure for farmers to observe the some of the directive the requirement for growing the more complicated Arabica coffee was a major challenge for cooperatives efforts. In addition, the government did not lower interests on loans from cooperatives and they remained limited in financing agricultural activities. The following were recommendations from the study: Financial incentives needed include loans, tax subsidies, grants and provision of farm inputs for example seeds and pesticides and fertilizers. While it isn’t common to provide cheap loans, efforts must be made for farmers to access simple loans without going through much bureaucracy. Findings showed that farmers lacked consistency in terms of fulfilling all the requirements for increasing production and improving the quality of Arabica coffee. Incentives most outstandingly affordable loans, skilling farmers and sharing information were key to improving the level of participation of farmers. Cooperatives are organized to up-date extension workers on particular areas of improvement.