| Author | Agga, Belissa Gobosho |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no. HS-87-05 |
| Subject(s) | Rural development--Ethiopia
|
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Cooperatives in developing countries especially in those which follow the socialist development pattern is one of the strategies widely
employed for rural development by the governments of these nations . The
aim of this study is, therefore, to assess the role of one type of socialist cooperatives (peasant service cooperatives) in rural development
of Bahr-Dar district in Ethiopia.
Although peasant service cooperatives in this district are engaged in many activities, this study focusses only on the major ones
which include marketing of agricultural produce, distribution of consumer
goods in rural areas, agricultural input distribution, construction of
socio-economic infrastructure and the creation of non-farm employment.
Data used for the assessment of these activities were gathered from the heads of peasant service cooperatives, government officers, published and unpublished government reports and by personal
observation.
The findings of the study show that the involvement of peasant
service cooperatives in marketing of agricultural produce has not brought
the anticipated increase in prices of agricultural produce. Rather,
their involvement assists the government to keep the produce prices as
low as possible and may have contributed to a considerable reduction of
agricultural production . However, the findings indicate that peasant
service cooperatives have played an important role in distribution of
consumer goods in rural areas of Bahr-Dar. Their participati on in this
activity has brought a significant reduction of both travel distances
and prices of consumer goods.
Peasant service cooperatives have also improved the distribution of agricultural inputs by enabling the majority of the
farmers to have access to those inputs and by reducing the workload
of the Ministry of agriculture which allows the Ministry t o concentrate
more on trials and demonstrations.
The findings also indicate that the construction of socio- economic infrastructure and the creation of non-farm employment by peasant
service cooperatives is unsatisfactory when compared to the achviements
of Gojjam region as the whole. |
| Year | 1987 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Human Settlement (HS) |
| Chairperson(s) | Demaine, Harvey; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Weber, Karl E. ;Guimaraes, Joao P. C. ; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1987 |