Abstract:
The policies of the Tanzanian government regarding cooperative societies
have never been consistent, and frequent policy changes have shaken the foundation of these
institutions, rendering farmers’ cooperatives unstable and unable to cope with the dynamics
of production and a market environment. As a result, small-scale farmers have fallen victim
to organisations whose leaders are corrupt, inexperienced in the management of their
organisations, overly bureaucratic, and unable to assist farmers in production and marketing
endeavours. In this context, members of cooperatives have had to deal with issues related to
confl icts of interest. This paper explores why several rural primary cooperatives in Moshi,
Tanzania, withdrew from the Kilimanjaro Native Cooperatives Union (KNCU) and formed
an alternative organisation to produce and market their coffee. Data were obtained from oral
histories, focus group discussions, case studies, and interviews, as well as a literature review.
Both internal and external factors contributed to the change in coffee marketing in Moshi.
These factors include confl icts among the members of the KNCU, the selfi shness of some
leaders, changes in production and marketing policies, and externally imposed requirements
for qualifying for loans from commercial banks. Although confl ict among the members of
the KNCU has been longstanding and inevitable, not enough has been done to improve the
performance of the KNCU and to increase the security of small-scale farmers engaged in
coffee marketing.
