Evaluating the Impact of Cooperative Training on Livelihood Capitals of Cocoa Farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58547/nxm9e405Keywords:
Cooperatives, Training, Cocoa, Livelihoods, AssetsAbstract
Cocoa is an important export crop and a source of livelihoods for farmers in Nigeria. The traditional method of producing and processing this crop has had a negative impact on the livelihoods of many cocoa farmers. Cooperative support through training has been embraced by the farmers to enhance their capacity for asset accumulation. The attendant impact of this training, however, remains unknown. This study identified types of training provided by cooperatives to the cocoa farmers, the factors influencing access to this training, and its impact on the accumulation of livelihood capital by the farmers. We surveyed a total of 250 cocoa-producing farmers through a multistage sampling method. The primary data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Probit model, and a non-parametric propensity score matching technique. The results show that the types of training provided by the farmers’ cooperatives include postharvest management (77.7%), loan management (74.3%), tools management (56.4%), and harvesting skills (52.5%), respectively. The results show a positive and significant (5%) effect of education (β = 0.595, z = 2.09, p< 0.05) and cooperative membership (β = 3.911, z = 3.84, p<0.01), and age (β = 0.595, z = 1.73, p< 0.10) on access to training. The findings show that access to cooperative training has a positive and significant (5%) impact, leading to an increase of N6605.454 ($4.16) in total values of physical asset accumulation. The estimated impact (ATT) of cooperative training on the financial assets of farmers is negative with a reducing value of -N1,551,486.75 ($976.56). These findings show that cooperative training has a mixed effect on the livelihood assets of cocoa farmers; the effect is positive on physical assets accumulation but negative on financial assets acquisition. This implies that cooperative organizations have a more role to play in boosting farmers livelihood improvement.
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