The sustainability of dairy cooperatives in Lusaka province.

Abstract

This research examined the sustainability of dairy cooperatives by examining the performance of 3 dairy cooperatives in Lusaka district. The purpose of this research was to ascertain the feasibility of the dairy cooperatives to be financially and operationally sustainable to allow for business continuity even without externa/donor aid. The objectives of the study were to examine the performance of the cooperatives, evaluate measures put in place to achieve sustainability and to evaluate the feasibility of the dairy cooperatives to operate in continuity and provide services to their members and the communities they serve. A descriptive research design was adopted in this study. Purposive sampling was used to select the 3 study sites and 38 questionnaire participants of this study. Quantitative data resulting from the questionnaires was analysed using a mixed method approach. Based on the findings, Dairy cooperative are not operating at their optimum and their performance is below par. This is mainly due to the reasons that the employees and management of the cooperatives lack specific skills to manage the operations of the cooperative. Findings in this research indicate that measures have been put in place in various cooperatives to ensure governance, operational and financial systems. However, the Cooperatives are not utilizing these systems and furthermore are not operating as a business that uses mechanisms of financial, governance and operational systems but rather operate at a bare minimum in their provision of services to their members. The study revealed that the cooperatives are feasible as a business entity and provided recommendations to build their internal capacity in business, financial and management skills necessary for efficient management of the cooperatives.