1.0 Introduction
Agricultural cooperative is a system by which farmers or associated agricultural related workers or business men are organized to help members increased their productivity and profit from their business. Agricultural cooperative engage in the production, marketing, processing and distribution of agricultural products. Therefore, all the cooperative societies that operate in the agricultural sector are engaged in these different operations belong to the group of agricultural cooperative.
In Imo State most inhabitants survive through agriculture and their main occupation is subsistence farming which attracted the interest of many cooperative societies, both the old and new ones. Increasing the agricultural productions 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 other to product that was several affected were coca yams, vegetables cassava stems, yam tubers, and other root crops.
The constraints to increased agricultural production through cooperative societies Igobo (1996) said. It is now on the government that dependence on the external sources of fund because it has ties their independence to the uncertainties of ridiculed.
1.1 General Overview of the Study
Cooperative movement all over the world has been considered or taken as both means and instrument of development whereby individual as group of people with common socio-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 how others news media by scholars advocating the use of cooperative societies for the development and increasement of standard of living of the rural people.
In Nigeria, over 60 percent of populations are involved in agriculture. The green revolution as conceived in Nigeria was a cell for an accelerated increase in agricultural production through radial modernization of agriculture by removing all the known constraints to increased production and the provision of needed inputs and agricultural mechanization.
Moreover, many programmes has been introduced by the federal government in support of development agricultural in rural area such as Agricultural Development Project (ADP), National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), Directorate of Food, Road and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI), Better Life Programme (BLP), National Accelerated Food Production (NAFP), Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) etc, Recently, “the Family Support Programme (FSP) was introduce by the Federal Government with the aim of increasing the life of the rural dwellers through the formation of Cooperative movement .
Cooperative movement spans through many aspect of our economic life such as production consumption, distribution, thrift saving and the provision of rural infrastructures.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Nigeria has embarked on various programmes and policies costing hundred of millions of naira aimed at reviving the depressed agricultural sector.
In view of this agricultural cooperative was instituted so as to organize the small scale farmers who are still involved in manual labour type of farming in cooperative 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 experts.
All these government efforts have not actually had much significant increasement in this sector, as much emphasis is now being placed on agricultural.
This call for urgent re-examination of the role of these agricultural products its aim of facilitating the attainment of self sufficient in agricultural and making agricultural to take its prime position in the national economy of this country.
1.3 Objective of the Study
The general purpose of this project research is to undertake a study of the existing farmers cooperative societies and their effect increasing the development of agricultural and also the study has the following objectives:
- To identify the constraints to increased agricultural productivity.
- To identify the problems facing agricultural cooperative societies.
- To identify the effects of decreased agricultural production.
- To suggests ways and means for enhancing the effectiveness of these agricultural societies.
1.4 Scope of the Study
This study will attempt to examine the policies of Owerri North Local Government development in agricultural and the important of cooperative in increasing agriculture production. The constraint in achieving the desired developing in agriculture and providing possible solution to overcome them shall also be examined in this project research.
However, in preparing this report the researcher has been handicapped by inadequate of time to take a more detail research.
Also within the time available, it has not been easy to contact most of the members of the cooperative and the state cooperative farm land whose farm land labour requirement is largely supplied by his family.The sells and send in a localized market the requires show initial capital investment farm on smallholding with simple technology and at least 60% of his annual income from agriculture.
1.5 Research Hypothesis
- Ho Agricultural production cannot be increased through agricultural cooperatives society.
- HA Agricultural production can be increased through agricultural cooperatives society.
1.6 Significance of the Study
Agriculture is important in order to sustain any economy. Meanwhile, bring together the agricultural sector, any effort geared at carrying out research aimed at increasing the agricultural production should be considered and any suggestion on the increasement of agricultural cooperative should be on the sector.
Presently, our farmers are not adequately remunerated despite the fact that they bend over double trying to make the state self-sufficient and self-reliant in food production but they cannot compete with their counterpart nation, if they are organized cooperative increased productivity enhanced the profit maximized to them and farmer will look more attractive.
1.7 Limitation of the Study
In the research work it requires finance. Money is required to gather relevant materials; type the completed works as well as to meet up with other contingencies.
The limiting factor of time, time is very essential in any research work, some information could be left out in order to meet up with time schedule.
Lastly, attitude of respondents, they don't give out information to the researcher.
1.8 Definition of Terms
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.
Farm Production:
Is the process of producing foodstuff and farming related products.
Small-Scale Individual Farms:
This implies a farmer whose total cultivable counterpart the nation of Nigeria, not to talk to the world. If they are organized in cooperative increased productivity enhanced the profit maximized and their farming will once more look attractive.
Auxiliary Cooperative:
This types provides individual service to number the cooperative main functions which provide credit supply and market and storage. The cooperative has no handle in the supervision and management affairs of members farm.
Cooperative Society:
Is a voluntary economic association in which the member's share the earned dividends the financial benefits that result from doing business at cost or without profits.
Farmer's Cooperative:
Opined that cooperative is a form of organization wherein person (farmer's volunteering associate together on the basis of equality for the production of their economic interest. In Yanga (1998).
