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Farmers’ Organizations’ (FOs) play a significant role as an institutional vehicle for promoting
agricultural development through helping farmers solve common problems in relation to agricultural
inputs, credit, technical knowledge and marketing of produce. All these services aim at improving
farming activities and enabling them to gain economic benefits to sustain their well-being. Based on the
above, this paper assessed the contribution of FOs to smallholder farmers’ well-being in Kasulu
district. Specifically, the study assessed farmers’ perception towards FOs, identified goods and
services accrued by farmers from the organizations, and the contribution of goods and services from
the same to farmers’ well-being. A cross-sectional research design was employed whereby data was
collected from 160 randomly selected farm households. Primary data was collected using a prestructured
questionnaire with both open and close-ended questions. Both quantitative and qualitative
information was collected. Observations from the study showed that FOs contributed positively to their
members’ well-being. Generally, FO’s members had a relatively higher income compared to the nonmembers,
based on t-test analysis; the difference was shown to be statistically significant. Generally,
the results indicated that extension services and the use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides were
positively associated with a household’s income and assets ownership. Therefore, it is recommended
that, rural farm households be encouraged to form or join farmers’ organizations as these have a great
potential of solving their problems. |
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