The Role of Livestock Cooperatives in Improving Economic Status of Animal Raisers: A Case Study on Cattle Breeders, Hamedan, Iran

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of livestock cooperatives in improving economic status of animal holders in Hamedan province. The study has used a surveying methodology. For gathering data a structured questionnaire was used and its reliability was calculated by Cronbachʹs Alpha test and it was (?=0.80). The research samples consisted of 300 animal holders (beef cattle breeders) included 150 members of livestock cooperatives and 150 non-members. In order to data analysis both correlation coefficients and t test were used. Results showed that there was a negative relationship between the age and membership in the livestock co-ops, there was also a positive relationship between education level and membership. Results revealed a difference between two groups of animal holders in terms of red meat production. This shows that members of livestock co-ops had a higher meat production in comparison with the non-members. In addition, the members of livestock co-ops participated in more training courses and they had a higher mean on technical knowledge than non-members.