Full Project – Cooperative societies – a viable tool for creating investment opportunities in rural areas

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CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

According to Franz Helm (1970), there have always been instances in the history of human society where individuals have come together to achieve certain aims in cooperation with others. In most tribal societies this has been a common feature. However, these common efforts were usually directed at fulfilling a certain temporary need. Organized cooperative business ventures of a more permanent character were comparatively rare, though some examples can be found throughout history, in the middle ages as well as in classical times.

The rise and expansion of the modern cooperative movement has its roots in the far-reaching economic, social and political changes which took place in Europe in the late eighteenth and all through the nineteenth century, especially the industrial revolution and the liberation of the pleasantly from the former feudalistic system. The traditional society which has centered on self-contained village life and on the strictly regulated guild system in the towns began to disintegrate. Capitalism at its worst together both growing urbanization led to appalling social conditions in the newly forming working class. In the rural areas farmers became increasingly indebted to usurious money lenders. These money lenders exploited the fact that the farmer who had lived more or less at subsistence level was now in desperate need of money to buy supplies for the cultivation of cash crops to buy more modern equipment and to pay taxes, which formerly had been collected in kind. The resulting social unrest and insecurity provided a fertile ground for ideas for a new social and economic order.

In spite of these favourable conditions the cooperative movement would scarcely have had the upsurge and astonishingly fast growth if it had had not been for a group of dedicated philanthropists, politicians, churchmen and civil servants who promoted cooperation by instilling general enthusiasm for its ideals or by showing the way through practical examples. Though the results, especially from the philanthropists, were sometimes hard to discern, their ideas still served as an inspiration for times to come.

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Co-operative societies in Nigeria functioning as small scale business, have usually continued themselves to provide production and consumer goods credit and service to their individual members. In primary societies, membership average is between 20 and 40. It is rare to find a cooperative in the country with a membership of more than 100, except in the urban, an institution saving and credit cooperatives. The provision of these goods and service has often been restricted mainly to the agricultural sector. These goods and services include the provision of production inputs (mostly credit) and marketing especially the traditional exports in the 1940s and 50s to set up some industries (see Onuoha, 1973 and Adeyiye, 1928). These efforts have not been sustained, in recent years therefore, cooperative have generally not made their impact felt in the industrial sector. Even in the agricultural sector, they have not been quite effective (Chukwu, 1993) because among others they have not really identified potentials areas of investment nor do they appear to known that they can undertake investment which facilitate the business operation of their members without the cooperatives themselves going into the direct production of the final consumer products has cast aspersion on their veracity as veritable investments for sustainable socio-economic development.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The co-operative societies, a viable tool for creating investment opportunities in rural areas has been and still faced with many constraints and problem that hindered the pace of the anticipated rapid growth. This includes inadequate basic infrastructure facilities, weak raw material base, utilization and unavailability of production and obsolence, shortage of managerial manpower, strong competition in imports, institution administrative bottlenecks, competition of extend resources interactive plight of the national electric power authority (NEPA) now Power Holding Nigeria Plc to supply power which remains a cog in the wheel of industrial progress, burden of cost and power sales of production input aid the output in some dumping and inconsistency in government policy.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The broad objective of this study is to ascertain the role of cooperative societies in creating investment in rural areas. Other objectives of this study includes to:

Identify the investment opportunities in the study areas.
Investigate the needs of real investment by cooperative societies.
Investigate the possible investment areas by the cooperative.
Investigate the investment opportunities open to these cooperative societies.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Do you think that the needs of investment opportunities in rural cooperatives in Nigeria can be ascertained?
What do you think are the problems facing the need of real investment by cooperative?
In what ways can you investigate the possible investment areas by the cooperative?
Do you think you can invert the investment opportunities.

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Cooperatives in the energy economy ensure that profits are made through their credit facilities and investment opportunities. This study will go a long way helping the cooperative societies to know the appropriate areas to invest their money. Also, it is the belief of the researcher that meaningful contribution would see made to the already existing literature on the investment opportunities for the rural areas through cooperative and agricultural production Nigeria, rural cooperatives in agricultural and industry. Moreover, this work will have a positive influence on the education studies and will aid other researchers working in the field of the study in the course of their research.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study attempts to identify some investment opportunities in the cooperative societies and scenes of Nigeria. Rural cooperative using Njaba, L.G.A in Imo State for illustration. It goes further to discuss the financial technical and management requirement for these investment and how to raise adequate funds for them. To aid this study, Njaba LGA will be used as reference town.

1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The researcher encountered a lot of constraints/problems especially in gathering facts due to the degree of confidential information involved. This includes:

Time: Due to the hectic academic schedule, the researcher has been handicapped by inadequacy of time to take a more detailed research. Also within the time available, it has not been easy to contact most of the local government areas cooperative farmland whose farm labour requirement is largely supplies by his family.
Distance: The distance from to Njaba makes it difficult to get all the needed information.
Finance: Due to high cost of the study, the researcher was unable to provide adequate fund for detailed study.
Poor Response to the Questionnaire and Lack of Research Facilities: This prevents idealism gathering of genuine facts in most cases.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Cooperative: It is an association to two people who volunteer themselves to make an organization.
Export: Is a means of exporting goods from one country to another.
Restricted: To limit
Potentials: Means powerful existing in possibility not in relating expressing power possibility, liberty or obligation.
Opportunity: It means possible for you to do something that you want to do.

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