INVESTIGATING NDUMBERI FARMERS COOPERATIVE SOCIETY ROLE IN JOB CREATION FOR THE YOUTH IN KIAMBU SUB COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Kenya is one of the countries with a high unemployment in sub-Saharan countries. The unemployment affects both rural and urban populations. This high unemployment can be attributed to the Global economic crisis, which is because of under-performing economies of countries worldwide. Many countries in developing world are turning to any available measures to address this phenomenon. The government of Kenya have put measures towards addressing the unemployment by proving the youth with cheap loans to start Small and Medium Enterprises as a public led initiative. The study was carried out in Ndumberi Farmers’ Cooperative Society in Kiambu Sub-county. The general objective of the study was to investigate the role of Ndumberi Farmers’ Cooperative Society (NDFCS) in job creation for the youth in Kiambu Sub-county. The specific objectives were; to find out the roles played by NDFCS in job creation, to assess factors that hinder NDFCS from creating jobs and to establish measures put in place to address factors hindering NDFCS from creating jobs. The study used descriptive research design that included the use of qualitative and quantitative survey approaches. The study used stratified random sampling to select 94 respondents from a population of 175 youths between 18 and 35 years. The study also purposively selected two senior managers of the cooperative and four ward administrators to participate in the study. Primary data was collected using key informant interview schedules and structured questionnaires. Data was analyzed for both quantitative and qualitative results. Descriptive statistic such as means and standard deviation was computed and results were presented in frequency tables and graphs. The key findings of the study are that the NDFCS has contributed significantly in creating jobs for the youths mainly indirectly. Also the study findings revealed that NDFCS has a potential of diversifying its operations by coming up with cooperatives products and scaling up its processing capacity to create more jobs for the youths. The study recommends that the youths should be encouraged to form or join existing cooperatives in order to create more job opportunities. In conclusion the role of cooperatives as a community based initiative for job creation needs to be enhanced by involving the youths and all stakeholders in order to address the underlying challenges identified in the study.