Abstract:
This article examines the politics and passage of the co- operative legislation in 1932 that
led to the suffocation and eventual strangulation of the Kilimanjaro Native Planters
Association (KNPA). In Kilimanjaro, Agricultural Marketing Co-operatives (AMCOs)
were registered from 1933 onwards to market coffee. This similarly happened in Ngara
District and Ruvuma Region. In Kilimanjaro, the colonial authorities as a whole were
responsible for the introduction of AMCOs while in Ngara and Ruvuma the AMCOs
were promoted by local colonial officials. In other parts of the country, senior colonial
officials deprived support and undermined emerging interests for co-operatives.
Additionally, the Registrar’s efforts to promote co-operatives was undermined.
Consequently, limited development of co-operative undertakings was evident in the
territory during interwar years including in areas that produced cash crops. Generally, the
promotion of AMCOs lacked central coordination. Political interests dominated the
decisions regarding the promotion of AMCOs.
