Perceived Benefits of Farmers’ Cooperative Societies on Rice Production in Selected Local Government Areas of Abuja, Nigeria.

Abstract

This study examined the perceived benefits of farmers’ cooperative societies to rice production in selected local government areas (LGAs) of Abuja, Nigeria. Using a structured questionnaire complimented with interview schedule, data were collected from 120 respondents selected from four cooperative societies in the study area through a multi-stage sampling technique. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics and linear regression analysis. The result showed that the respondents mean age was 46years and about half (50.8%) had up to at least secondary education. Majority (83.4%) of the respondents had been involved in rice cultivation for the past 15years but only 5.8% had only been members of rice cooperative for more than 10 years. The respondents’ perceived benefits of cooperative society on rice production with higher mean scores include “cooperative gives advice on the quality of seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, and cropping practices” (WM = 4.68), “helped in facilitating access to better market” (WM = 4. 57), “enlightening and educating members on new improved farm practices and access to farm inputs” (WM = 4.50). The linear regression analysis results revealed that the R2 value was 0.8445, meaning that over 84% of the variables included in the model accounted for the variation in the dependent variable. The educational level, marital status and farmers output were respectively, significant at 1% level of probability. On the hypothesis, there is a significant difference between the rice output produced by farmers before and after joining the cooperative societies (t-cal (5.211) > t-critical (1.00). Complicated administrative procedure, poor membership contribution, lack of trust among members, discriminating attitude of cooperative officials and inability to access loan/credit were the major problems faced by the cooperative members. Therefore, it was recommended that Agricultural stakeholders should encourage farmers to operate a functional cooperative that could facilitate credit and group dynamism.