Cooperative membership and ginger productivity in Same district in Tanzania

In most developing countries, small-scale farmers are urged to form and join cooperatives predominantly to address production and marketing restraints that deter an increase in prof-its and improvements in their livelihoods. By using a crosse-sectional data of 100 small-scale ginger growers and 4 key informants in Same district in Tanzania, this study investigated the contribution of cooperative membership in enhancing ginger production. The results from a probit model examining the factors determining participation in cooperatives suggest that the probability of ginger farmers joining the cooperative increases with age and land owner-ship status. The estimates from a linear regression model analysing the effect of cooperative membership on the quantity of per hectare ginger production show that cooperative membership has a positive and significant effect on ginger production indicating that farmers organized into cooperatives perform better in the production than those who are not members. The information obtained from key informants unravels the ways members benefit from the cooperative meanwhile showing the challenges that a cooperative may encounter in achieving its goals. The results in this study advocate for immediate and deliberate efforts and mechanisms to increase farmers enrolment in cooperatives, improve members’ benefits and address existing cooperative’s challenges as important areas for cooperative sustainability and attraction to new members.