To investigate the contribution of agriculture marketing cooperative societies on improving the livelihood of members :

Abstract

Based on research completed at RUMAKO AMCOS between June and November of 2022, this essay. It aims to share and educate on the impact of marketing services provided by agriculture marketing cooperative societies on raising the standard of living for their members. It has concentrated on the coffee growers in RUMAKO AMCOS in the Tanzanian district council of Kigoma. This paper specifically discussed how various market services, such as the auction market, direct export market, and organic market, as well as storage and transportation facilities and coffee processing, can affect how much the price of coffee per kilogram and net coffee sales can improve members' standard of living. A cross-sectional survey research design was used in the study. 92 people from RUMAKO AMCOS were included in the sample. In order to gather both primary and secondary data, questionnaire surveys, interviews, and document reviews were used. Frequency tables, descriptive statistics, and a regression model were used to examine the data. The study's findings revealed that more than (90%) of respondents agreed and strongly agreed that marketing services had contributed to an increase in the price per kilogram of coffee and net coffee sales, which had a positive impact on respondents' quality of life. In addition, the results of the regression analysis showed that compared to the other marketing services offered by RUMAKO AMCOS, coffee processing has a stronger impact on the price per kilogram and coffee net sales. Despite this, AMCOS has realized that there are bigger obstacles standing in the way of their plans to enhance member livelihood. According to the study's findings, cooperatives are created for a variety of reasons, such as economic growth, empowering marginalized community members, addressing market failures, protecting against unfavorable socioeconomic conditions, gaining access to inexpensive transportation and storage options, and paying less for inputs. Even so, AMCOS has faced significant difficulties in improving members' quality of life due to the fluctuating prices of agricultural produce. The researcher advises AMCOS stakeholders to determine the best means of controlling the risk of price instability in order to safeguard the interests of members who are smallholder coffee producers.