Abstract:
Main aim of the paper was to identify the socio-cultural and economic factors affecting effective youths’ participation in agricultural marketing co-operative societies. Specifically, the study intended to; examine the operations of agricultural and marketing co-operatives, determine the pre-requisites for person becoming a member of agricultural and marketing co-operatives, examine the socio-cultural factors hindering effective youth’s participation in agricultural and marketing co-operatives and examine the economic factors hindering effective youth’s participation in agricultural and marketing co-operatives. The paper used a multi-case study design were used in describing various issues relating to the study. The cases that were used in this study were Mweka Sungu, Mruwia and Njari in Uru North from Moshi district council and Engare Olmotony and Sokoni II AMCOS in Arusha district council, Tanzania. The study revealed that the socio-cultural factors affecting youths participation in AMCOS include among others; male biasness in coffee ownership, social inequality and generational difference between youths and older members, lack of interest and inadequate co-operative education among youths, limited range of services provided by AMCOS, unfavorable production and distribution relations, young women are over-occupied with domestic chores and life hardship in rural areas and rural-urban migration among other factors.
