Abstract:
Ushirika Afya scheme plays a crucial role in improving and protecting
Co-operative members in health issues in the agriculture sector. This study was
carried out to examine the co-operative members’ perceptions towards the Ushirika
Afya scheme and examine the key determinants of members' engagement in the
Ushirika Afya scheme. The study was guided by the theory of planned behaviour
(TPB) as the leading theory and social capital theory. The study adopted a crosssectional
research design. The target population and the unit of analysis included all
Agricultural and Marketing Co-operative (AMCOS) members who are in the
Ushirika Afya scheme in the study area, and the sample size of 300 respondents was
involved. The study findings indicated that socio-demographic factors, including age,
marital status, household income and size, level of education, and economic activity,
significantly influence cooperative members in the Ushirika Afya scheme. Thematic
analysis revealed that cooperative members’ perception towards Ushirika afya was
for health concern, health protection, old and aged cooperative members, it was for
sick people, it is government government-established programme for cooperative
members in AMCOS. Moreover, the study concludes that there is limited
engagement with the Ushirika Afya Scheme among youth, whereas the perception in
many people’s minds is that the Ushirika Afya Scheme is for elderly people, sick
people, and poor people. This is because the study has shown that there is a high rate
of elders enrolled in the scheme compared to the youth. There is a need for increased
investment in awareness campaigns and capacity-building programmes to enhance
the publicity of the Ushirika Afya scheme, which will lead to an increased number of
members.
