The Importance Of Improving Agricultural Production Through Co-Operative Societies (A Case Study Of Aniocha L.G.A, Anambra State.)
The Importance Of Improving Agricultural Production Through Co-Operative Societies (A Case Study Of Aniocha L.G.A, Anambra State.)
Abstract
Agriculture is a science or practice of cultivating the land the keeping or breeding animal for food and for the promotion of the countries economy.
The importance of improving Agricultural production through Co-operative Society especially in Anambra State, is their source of earning food and money for their survival, both man and animal around. It is also provision of raw materials for the Agro-based Industries, which helps in the production facilities programmes.
Co-operative society is the coming together of different people in order to achieve a common goals and objectives of the society. They teamed up in Anambra State to cultivate and supply masses with food and also to feed themselves with their families.
Chapter One
1.0 Introduction
In Anambra State, most inhabitants survive through Agriculture and their main occupation is subsistence farming which attracted the interest of many co-operative societies both the old and new ones. Improving the Agricultural production was their main target and at the same time lifting the level of it size and qualities. Most of the crop couldn’t grow well in order to produce as expected. The product that were several affected were yam tubers, cocoa yam, vegetable, cassava stem and tubers.
In the sixties, Anambra State economy had a mono-sectorial dependency on Agriculture as the main source of earning, and also the main source of employment. Then we took one leaf from this dependency on agriculture to a higher dependency on trade and white collar jobs.
Anambra state Agriculture is till completely preasentised, hoe, cutlass economy with a large number of small-scale holder producers. One can observe that Anambra state is still semi-substantial and their output from Agriculture production can neither feed the fearing population nor provide essential raw material for the agro-based industries. The export of the state major cash crops which has in the past supported the economy has virtually stopped.
While a lot of observers dwell on the urgent need to reinitialize this sector, Omuma (1986) implied the adverse effects of no reinitialization of the agricultural sector noted that under such conditions, all it needed was famine and kwashiorkor to be evident in the village.
Furthermore, one wondered why it is taking the state so long despite its abundant land and know-how to revitalize the agricultural sector and save the inhabitants of Anambra state who both underrated kwashiorkor stricken and undernourished. While emphasizing the importance of improving agriculture productions, through co-operatives. Igbo (1996) said, it is now on the government the dependence on the external sources of food, because it has ties their state independence to the uncertainties of ridiculed.
According to Anambra state food journal (1991), Agriculture was the back bone of the state’s economy development to thousands of Anambra state indigenes over 95% of the labour force, mostly from rural areas. Agriculture produces feeds for animals that provide proteins for man.
All these made the government to organize these present farmers into agricultural co-operative with view of having massive food production in the country.
1.1 Background of the Study
Co-operative movement all over the world has been considered or taken as both mean and instrument of development whereby individual as group of people with common social-economic come together mutually to take and solve their common socio-economic problems. In our country today, sources of statements have been made in the newspapers and other news media, by scholars advocating the use of co-operative societies for the development and improvement of living standard of the rural people.
Meanwhile, many programmes have been launched by the federal government in support of this rural development, such as Agricultural Development Project (ADP), National Land Development Authority (NALDA), Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructures (DFRRI), Better Life {Programme (BLP), etc.
Recently, the family support programme (FSP) which was launched by the federal government which aims at improving the life of the rural dwellers through the formation of co-operative movement. Co-operative movement spans through many aspects of our economic life such as production, consumption, distribution, thrift, savings and the provision of rural infrastructures.
1.1 Statement of the Problem
Nigeria has embarked on various programmes and policies, costing hundreds of millions of naira aimed at reviving the depressed agricultural sector.
In view of this, agricultural co-operative was instituted so as to organize the small-scale farmer who are still involve in manual labour type of farming in co-operative and had failed to produce enough food for our teaming population thereby forcing the country to be involved in importation of large quantity of food with a huge percentage decline in agricultural export. All these government efforts have not actually had much significant improvement in this sector as much emphasis is now being placed on agriculture. This call for urgent reexamination of the role of these agricultural products, its aim of facilitating the attainment of self sufficient in agricultural and making agriculture to take its prime position in the national economy of this country.
1.2 Purpose / Objectives of the Study
The general purpose of this project report is to undertake a study of the existing farmer co-operative societies has their efforts in improving the development of agriculture.
Also the study has the following objectives:
- To examine the organizational structure and the operations of co-operatives movement in Anambra state with particular reference to Aniocha Local Government Area.
- To examine the impact of the farmer co-operative societies.
- To investigate the problems facing the farmers co-operative societies.
- To suggest ways and means for enhancing the effectiveness of the societies and assist in further research into contemporary issue on this manner.
1.3 Definition of Terms.
1. Agricultural Productivity:
The index of the ratio of the value of the total farm output to the value of the total input used in farm production.
2. Farm Management:
The application of farming science and technology , the solution of the day-to-day problems facing the farmers.
3. Bye-laws:
We mean the registered bye-laws made by a co-operative society which governs the activities of such society and which is made by a society in the exercise of any power conferred by the co-operative society law.
4. Small-scale Individual farms:
This implies a farmer whose total cultivatable counterparts the nation of Nigeria, not to talk of the world. If they are organized in co-operative increased productivity enhanced the profit maximized to them, and their farming will once more look attractive.
5. Auxiliary Co-Operatives:
This type provides individual services to number the co-operatives’ main functions which provide credit supply and market and storage. The co-operatives main functions are to provide credits supply, market and storage. The co-operative has no hand in the supervision and management affairs of member farm.
6. Productive Co-operatives:
There is a full integration. The co-operative absorbs all the members business enterprise that is members’ economic responsibilities are borne to be the co-operative which is found in Aniocha local government area.
This is co-operative by integration; the farmer depends on society for his production activities. There is a strong link between the co-operative and members in areas of management facing them.
Chapter Four
4.0 Summary of Findings, Conclusion and Recommendations
4.1 Summary of Findings
The main purpose of study was to find out the importance of improving Agricultural production through co-operative society.
From the research study, the researcher found out that some problems and constraints that contributed to the inability to improve Agricultural production. These are some of the problems which have been discussed below.
1. Low Membership:
As it was found out from the responses in the membership of co-operative society, these members are too low when we compare it with the expected average capital fund that is required to be raised by this co-operatives.
In other word, more members that suppose to be allowed into this co-operative so as to promote adequacy of share capital and to make the government objective is involving at
least 25%. Therefore, they should look for a way to draw in members.
2. Co-operative Field Staff:
It was observed that it is disadvantage of auxiliary co-operative service in which the co-operative is not all allowed to take part in supervision and management of the affairs of members from the staff.
3. Lack of Market, Storage and Processing Facilities:
Co-operative have no production scale and in effect do not know the market possibility of their product as not to mean much cost when they make sells.
Inadequate storage and processing facilities have made these farmers to loose their products, since they left with old ways of storage such as brain and not processing at all because they are still suing the hoe-cutlass method of farming.
4. Education:
Education is one of the major problems they have to tackle. The researcher observed that the farmers do not make appropriate use of improved seeds, fertilizers, agro-chemical and among others.
It was also discovered that co-operative do not have sufficient fund to carry on their activities.
4.2 Conclusion
Agriculture being the main Economic sector of the country is necessary in making great effort in the development of the entire national Economy and the society.
These appear to be three broad options in achieving this:
First option is for the local government to ensure meaningful participation of members of co-operative in the production-promotion co-operative. This is true because of enormous advantages of this type of over auxiliary and productive type of co-operative. For instance, the production-promotion is very good at ensuring mass production of food ensuring specialist, increase in economics farmers and protection of farm equipment.
Secondly, is the option for government to ensure meaningful participation of farmers co-operative in the agricultural sector. This is by helping to remove the numerous constraint to effective co-operative section of agricultural sector of the economy. These critical constraint still exist despite the enormous effects in recent time to improve food production on their own part. The members of the co-operative is self help organization, instrument and credit agent for achievement of national socio-economic developmental goals. They should therefore, strive to build a viable co-operative society.
So far as ¾ of the members of this co-operatives have shown that they do not have the magic to revolutionalise agricultural production and should therefore not be allowed to hold the nation, state and local government hostage indefinitely.
Effort should therefore be made to effectively organize these individual members of the co-operatives into real co-operative society. Finally, the production-promotion co-operative should be bailed as the lastly solution to co-operativetalising the entire local government area.
4.3 Recommendation
Based on the findings and conclusion, the following recommendation are hereby made.
First and fore most, it would be the best thing for government to put on policy that will encourage scale co-operative. Hence ignorant on the part of our co-operative members is a major factor which had in the most contributed in the problems affecting the society of co-operative. Most members are not in a state of knowing what they are expected, therefore, how to be operating and also how to be managing the societies source of fund.
Secondly, easy access to consolidation of land. Easy land act decree of 1977 has to come in here, so that the government will equally help in the creation of an effective co-operative and encouragement of land scale production by mapping out agricultural land to co-operative farmers for a token fee.
More so, co-operative financing and credit or Aniocha local government co-operative societies access to credit is not guaranteed at present. The only major credit institution for these members is co-operative on their localities. The members find it very difficult to secure credit from their co-operative due to bureaucratic bottlenecks. Hence these members often resort to informal unscrupulous money lenders as source of capital.
To avoid these, it is good to allow as many members as possible into the co-operative so as to generate much funds. These will then create more avenue for the co-operative to be able to attend both social and economic efficiency by reaping the benefit of specialization and economic scale.
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