Putting Cooperative Development in Urban Development Agenda: An Analysis and Lessons from Co-operative Reform and Modernization Program Implementation Intervention with Case Reality in Tanzania

Abstract

Cooperative development in Tanzania and elsewhere in the world has been a vehicle for improving livelihoods of the residents in both urban and rural settings. It has a historical movements trend from agriculture crop productivity, marketing and value additions needs and movements, which in most developing countries required joint efforts and partnership in its operations for member based benefits in sustainable urban development agenda. Management of these cooperative societies as a vehicle for poverty reduction has been facing various challenges including but not limited to corruption, policy and legal setting as well as institutional structure and systems in place, which among others necessitate many developing countries to have cooperative reform programme to redress the situation, Tanzania inclusive. This paper therefore is centered on documenting factors constraining co-operatives reform and modernization program implementation in Tanzania, which pave the way of putting cooperative development in urban development agenda in view to poverty reduction, institutional and systems development as well as empowerment needs. It examines the case of Kalali Women Dairy Co-operative Society Ltd in Hai District Council to evidence the need. It analyses the co-operative reform awareness among co-operative members. Similarly, highlights the type of services offered by the society as well as factors hindering the implementation of co-operative reform and modernization program. The paper wind up by establishing prospects for future implementation modalities and required capacity for improvement, thus contributing to poverty reduction and meeting the interest of co-operative movement, needs, principles and therefore becomes an integral part of urban development agenda in Tanzania.