Abstract:
When the issue of economic growth and development of the country is raised, one has to
take into account is the performance of the growth of smallholder farmers. Reducing
the challenges they are facing and utilizing their potential can help to accelerate the
agricultural cooperatives for self-reliance, higher productivity, and promotion of
agricultural development. Therefore, the major concern of this study is to empirically
analyze the role of agricultural multipurpose cooperatives in agricultural output
marketing found in the Ambo District Oromia State, Ethiopia. Both primary and
secondary data were used for this study. Primary data pertaining to the year 2014/15
EC is collected from the selected sample respondents through structured
questionnaires. Secondary data of cooperatives were taken into consideration to
examine the performance of the output marketing by the cooperatives in the districts.
The major concern of this study is to empirically analyze the role of agricultural
multipurpose cooperatives in agricultural output marketing found in the Ambo District
Oromia State, Ethiopia. The study is a descriptive and explanatory type of research
design. The target populations of the study were cooperative members and users of the
cooperative of the agricultural output marketing of the ambo district. To take a sample,
the researcher employs simple random sampling methods. The researcher has
purposively select Meti kebeles from kebeles of Ambo district, and research has taken a
sample of 354 respondents. In the study, both primary and secondary data were used by
the researcher. The researcher analyzed the data by using descriptive statistics and
SPSS software package to analyze the available data which refers to the transformation
of raw data into a form that would make it easy to understand and presented in tabular
form by using percentage and frequency. The Results of findings show that, the majority
of sample households buy items from cooperatives assuming buying items from
cooperatives secure such advantages as relatively cheaper price, better quality, and
correct measurement of items over buying items from private businesses or shops,
farmers, however, were not getting all the agricultural inputs from their cooperative
society on the right time and at the required quantity; cooperatives are not at
encouraging level in their performance of output marketing and households could not
guarantee improvement in agricultural production for they were not getting all the
agricultural inputs from cooperatives. Cooperatives also face a wide array of
constraints both internally and externally ranging from maladministration to market
uncertainties; cooperatives have been found hardly successful in creating direct and
indirect job opportunities for members; the day-to-day activities of cooperatives were
run by a board of directors, volunteers, government body, Finally, recommendations
were made in order to enhance the performance of cooperatives and for further
research to look deep into policy options to improve performance of cooperative
