On the 25th August 2019, the students under cooperative research group with support from the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences visited Zambia. The visit aimed at cooperative research data collection on social and economic aspects of members commitment to agricultural marketing cooperatives in the Western part of Zambia. The students also undertook 4 weeks internship programme on monitoring and evaluation of cooperatives with Caritas Czech Republic, Mongu in the Western Province of Zambia.
The survey data collection was conducted on 273 members with different levels of commitment in agricultural cooperatives. This enabled us to compare the non-economic and economic aspect of members activeness in the cooperative. The research was funded by the FTZ student mobility grant and the FTZ Internal Grant Agency (IGA).
The research and internship exposed students to collaborate with the existing structures of Caritas Czech republic in western Zambia together with the provincial and district officials from the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry and Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. The students were privileged to understand and be exposed to Zambian cooperative opportunities and achievements, challenges and its failures and inefficiencies.
