Full Project – The importance of improving agriculture through cooperative societies

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

In Abia state most inhabitants survive through agriculture and their main occupation is subsistence farming which attracted the interest of many cooperative societies,both the existing and the new ones. Improving agricultural production was their main target and the same time lifting the level of its size and qualities with the aim of improving the standard of living of its members. Most of the crop could not grow well, in other to produce as expected, the products that were affected were cassava, yam tubers, cocoyam, vegetable and some other crops.

In the fifties to the sixties, Abia state economy had a mono-sectoral dependency on palm production agriculture as their main source of earning and employment.

Later, our dependency on agriculture led to a higher dependency on white colar jobs and trade.

Abia state is still praticing agricultural production.With a large number of small scale holders producersone can observe that Abia state is still semi substantial and their output from agricuture production can neither feed the teeming population,nor provide sufficient and essential raw materials for the agro based industires. Palm produce which is the state major cash crop in the past that supported the economy,virtually stopped.

Whereby no wonder it is taking the state so long despite its abundace in areas pertaining to land and know-how. While emphasizing on the importance of improving agricultural production, through cooperative societies. Igbo(1996) said “it is now on the government to know that dependence on the external sources of food is dangerous because it has tie up the state independence to the uncertainties of ridicule.

Moreover, history has it that agriculture has been the bedrock of Abia state economic development, over thousands of the people that are in the rural areas are in the labour forcewith the percentage of 91% which makes it obvious to see the importance of agriculture in Umuahia local government area in Abia state which has produced animals that produces protein that man eats, treats for herbs, crops for feed and trade and many more.

All of these, made government to organise peasant farmers into agricultural cooperative with th view of having massive food production,education and mobilizing them to join cooperativein the country.

1.1 GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY

Cooperative movement all over the whole wide world has been considered and seen as both means and instrument of development whereby individual or group of people with common socio-economic needs already identified,they come together mutually to contibute their resources and solve their common socio-economic problem so as to eradicate poor standard of living for its members in our country today, sources of statements has been made in the magazines,newspapers and other news media, by scholarsadvocating the use of cooperative societies for the development and improvement of the living standard of the rural dwellers.

In other hand,many programmes have been launched by the federal government project(ADP).Directorof food,road and rural infrastrustural(DFRRI),better life programmes (BLP),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 cooperative movement. Cooperative movement spans through many aspects of our economic life such as production,consumption,distribution,thrifts saving and the provision of rural infrastructures.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Nigeria ha embarked on various programmes and policies, costing hundred of millions of naira amied at revivng the depressed agricultural sector.

In view of this,agriculturral cooperative was instituted so as to organise the small scale farmers who are still involved in manual labour type of farming in cooperative and had failed to produce food for our farming population thereby forcing the country to be involved in importation of large quatity of food with a huge percentage decline in agricultural exports.

In all government efforts have not actually had much significant improvement in the agricultural sector. So this calls for urgent aim of facilitating the attainment of self-sufficiency in agriculture and making agriculture to take its position in the national economy of the country.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The general purpose of this project report is to undertake a study of existing farmers cooperative socities and their effects in improving the development of agriculture.

The objective of the study are as follows:-

To investigate the problems facing the farmers cooperative so as know the means of solving them.
To examine the organisational structure and the operations of cooperative movement with reference to Umuahia local government area in Abia state.
To suggest ways and means of enhancing the effectiveness of these societies and assist in further research into contemporary issue on this manner.
To examine the impact of the farmers cooperative societies.

SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This study will attempt to examine the policies of Umuahia local government in agriculture and its importance.The constraints in improving agricultural production,a possible solution to overcome them shall be examined in this project report.in most cases,when preparing this report,the researcher has been handicapped by inadequency of time to take more detailed research.Also within the time available,it has not been easy to contact most of the members of the cooperative and the state cooperative farmland whose farm labour requirement is largely supplied by his family the sells are done in a localised market,which requires a small holdings with simple technology and at least 60% of his annual income from agriculture.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

For the purpose of this research work,some research questions have been formulated.

What are the effects of improving agricultural production through cooperative?
Do you think agricultural cooperative is helping in improving our country?
How can production be mobilised through cooperative societies in Abia state?
What role can government play to help improve agricultural production in cooperative societies?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The importance of this piece of work cannot be overemphasised.This is because this write up will all bring out the hidden problems which the production in turn put up some sugestions as would help in solving these problem.this will ensure proper and well articulated programme aimed at withstanding the problem posed day is a point in time when cooperative societies practice has become the order of the day.this can be attributed to peoples drive to maximise profit.This brought about serious competition in the economy,in the wake of this,this work will relate the efforts of cooperative societies in trying to curb those bad production practices with the aim of bringing a relief to the poor masses by farming agricultural production in cooperative societies.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Farm management: This is the application of farming science and technology and the solution to the day to day problems facing the farms.

Agricultural productivity: It is the index of the ratio of the value of the total farm output to the value of the total farm input used in farm production.

Bye-laws: There are bye-laws made by cooperative society which governs the activities of such society and which is made by a society in the exercise of and power conferred by the cooperative society law. In order words, a bye-law is a legal document that spells out of the nature of the relationship between the cooperative societies and its members and also between such cooperative society and third party

Auxiliary cooperatives:This type provides individual services to a number of cooperative, main function which include to prvide credit supply, market and storage.The cooperative main funtions are the following.

To provide credit supply

To marketing and

Storage

The cooperative concerns itself with these functions and never interfere into member’s private management.

Productive cooperatives: Here, there is a full interrogation. The cooperative absorb all the members business enterprise that is members economic responsiblities of home are taken by the cooperative.

This cooperative by integration: The farmer depends on society for his production activities. There is a strong link between the cooperative and the members in area management facing them.

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