Impact of Cooperative Membership on the Socioeconomic Welfare of Cassava Producers in South East, Nigeria.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58547/attrgj78Keywords:
Cooperative Membership, Cassava Producers, Rural Empowerment, Agricultural Productivity, Institutional SupportAbstract
This study examined the impact of co-operative membership on the socioeconomic welfare of cassava producers in South East, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was employed, and data were collected from 324 randomly selected members of registered co-operative societies. A structured questionnaire was validated for content clarity, and its reliability was confirmed using Cronbach’s Alpha (α = .82), indicating high internal consistency. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square (χ²) tests at the 0.05 significance level. Findings revealed that co-operative participation significantly enhanced cassava producers’ investment potential, pricing advantage, and market adaptability (χ² = 70.67, p < .05). However, challenges such as limited capital, poor access to credit, and infrastructural deficits persisted (χ² = 38.89, p < .05). The study concludes that co-operative membership positively influences the income and productivity of cassava farmers. Strengthened institutional support, accessible financing, and improved training programs are recommended to optimize co-operatives’ developmental impact in the region. This research advances knowledge on co-operative participation impacts on cassava farmers’ livelihoods and empowerment, while exposing structural limits influencing rural economic transformation in Nigeria.
References
Abdul-Rahaman, A. & Abdulai, A. (2018). Farmer groups, collective marketing and smallholder farm performance in rural Ghana. Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, 8(2): 213–234.
Adebayo, C.O. (2018). Demand for formal credit among small scale cassava farmers in Kogi State, Nigeria: A double hurdle analysis. Journal of Tropical Agriculture, Food, Environment and Extension. 17(2): 45-50.
Agbo, F.U. & Chidebelu, S.A.N.D. (2010). Socio-economic determinants of co-operative societies’ membership in South East, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Rural Sociology, 11(1): 48–56.
Anarah, S.E., Ezeano, C.I. & Osuafor, O.O. (2019). Perceived effects of climate variability on cassava production among small scale farmers in Anambra State, Nigeria. Journal of Agricultural Studies. 7(2): 43-57
Carini C, Carpita M. (2020). The impact of co-operative enterprises on social and environmental sustainability. Sustainability, 12(4): 1447.
Cheney G., Santa Maria, C. & Munoz, E. (2019). Co-operatives and community development: A comparative perspective. Journal of Co-operative Organization and Management, 7(1): 1-10.
Chukwu, S.C. (1990). Economics of the Co-operative Business Enterprise, Marburg Consult for Self-Help. Marburg.
FAO STAT. (2019). Cassava production statistics. http://www.fao.org/faostat
International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) Congress (1995). Centennial Congress and General Assembly. Manchester, United Kingdom
Kuye, O.O. (2015). Comparative analysis of constraints to cassava production by cassava farmer loan beneficiaries and loan non-beneficiaries in South-South Nigeria. Global Journal of Agricultural Research, 3(3): 38-52.
Nnadozie, A.K.O., Ume, S.I., Isiocha, S. & Njoku, I.A. (2015). Nigerian cassava potentials in national economic development. Science Journal of Business and Management. 3(5-1): 47-49.
Novkovic S, Miner K. (2022). Co-operative governance fit to purpose: Instrumental rationality and member engagement in large co-operatives. Journal of Co-operative Studies, 54(1): 5-18.
Oguntuase, A., Adebowale, R. & Sanni, L. (2015). CAVA 2 Nigeria Baseline Report.
Ojiagu, A. & Onoh, J. (2017). Co-operative societies and smallholder agricultural development. Nigerian Journal of Co-operative Studies, 4(1): 22–35.
Ojiako, I.A., Ezedinma, C., Okechukwu, R.U. & Asumugha, G.N. (2013). Spatial integration and price transmission in selected cassava products’ markets in Nigeria: A Case of Gari. World Applied Sciences Journal. 22(9): 1373-1383
Olaosebikan, O.,Abdulrazaq,B., Owoade, D., Ogunade, A., Aina, O., Ilona,P., Muheebwa, A., Teeken, B., Iluebbey,P., Kulakow, P., Bakare, M. & Parkes, E.(2018). Gender- based constraints affecting biofortified cassava production, processing and marketing among men and women adopters in Oyo and Benue States, Nigeria. Journal of Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology, 105: 17-27.
Oyewole, M.F. & Eforuoku, F. (2019). Value addition on cassava waste among processors in Oyo State. Nigeria. Journal of Agricultural Extension. 23(3): 135-146.
Reincke, K., Vilvert, E., Fasse, A., Graef, F., Sieber, S. & Lana, M.A. (2018). Key factors influencing food security of smallholder farmers in Tanzania and the role of cassava as a strategic crop. Food Security, 10(4): 911-924.
Shittu, T.A., Alimi, B.A., Wahab, B., Sanni, LO. & Abass, A.B. (2016). Cassava flour and starch: Processing technology and utilization: Tropical Roots and Tubers, Production, processing and technology. John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
Solomon, O.E. (2019). Knowledge status and disease control practices of cassava farmers in Delta State, Nigeria: Implications for extension delivery. Journal of Open Agriculture, 4(1): 22-37.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Itodo, Emeka Paul, Onyeze, Clementina Ngozi, Okonkwo, Paul Chuks
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Papers published in AJCDT Journal must be the original work of the author/s that has not been published previously in any manner. Authors retain the copyright of the published papers.
Deprecated: json_decode(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($json) of type string is deprecated in /var/www/html/ojs/plugins/generic/citations/CitationsPlugin.php on line 68
