MARKETING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS THROUGH CONSUMERS COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES.
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MARKETING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS THROUGH CONSUMERS COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES.
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Recognising Nigeria’s enormous agricultural potential, the government has embraced the notion that the country should commit to make agriculture the primary source of income for the economy and Enugu state.
To generate significant surpluses, agricultural development must include increases in agricultural production. Surplus concerns contribute to marketing issues because when they engage in large-scale production, surpluses are left behind.
Most of our farmers are uneducated and impoverished, so they rely on rural usurers for capital at the greatest rate of interest during the planting season, and they are forced to sell their products through middlemen since they lack the capacity to sell directly to customers. As a result, they are not receiving a fair price for their products.
So it is apparent that our farmers are becoming poorer by the day as a result of middlemen and usurers exploiting them. In these situations, cooperative marketing can serve as an agricultural marketing strategy for our farmers.
Throughout human history, some activities have always been carried out by groups rather than individuals, simply because it was a better and more cost-effective way of doing things.
Consumer cooperatives are a way of working together with individuals who share the same or comparable demands or issues. It is a method of combining resources and human effort in an organised, disciplined manner.
Consumer cooperatives can sell agricultural products by collaborating with two or more enterprises on advertising and promotional efforts to achieve the same goal. This is commonly referred to as cooperative advertising, however it is not restricted to the advertising industry.
Typically, this occurs when a manufacturer supports the efforts of a store, but it can also be employed by many businesses wishing to pool their resources to reduce advertising and promotion expenditures (DiBona, 2010).
Money lenders, rotating savings collectors, mutual aid groups, Self-Help Groups (SHGS), and other financial market actors form an informal network. Self-help groups, such as Isusu in Igbo, Adashe in Hausa, Ajo in Yoruba, Yak-kishar in Ngas, Bam and Oku in Tiv and Kalabari Ijaw, have existed in Nigeria for a long time.
These associations become legitimate credit institutions if they are registered as cooperative societies (Mohammed, 2011). They are a subset of formal institutions (when registered) that cover a wide range of economic activities such as farming, fishing, petty trading, arts and crafts, local processing, and the like, and provide a source of income for millions of Nigerians living in both rural and urban settings.
Cooperative Societies have recently grown dramatically in terms of number, membership, and activity throughout the country. They are a reliable source of funds mobilisation and participatory credit management in Nigeria. They are organised to mobilise savings and direct financial resources towards individual needs, primarily for consumption.
Cooperative Societies are stated to augment formal financial institutions’ efforts by mobilising and channelling financial resources to Nigeria’s deficit areas (particularly low and middle-income earners) in both rural and urban locations.
Their importance to the Nigerian economy cannot be overstated. There is little doubt that cooperatives, which are primarily concerned with the social and economic well-being of its members and, by extension, society as a whole, may be used to accomplish this.
Cooperatives, while traditionally founded to cater solely to the welfare of members, have been discovered to be a valuable tool for economic advancement and an improved standard of life in an ever-changing environment.
Farmers are illiterate and poor, thus they lack the competence to carry out farming chores effectively and efficiently. Farmers lack the educational qualifications and financial resources to store and transport their produce to market for a better price.
As a result, businesses are forced to sell their products to middlemen at a cheaper price, which in most cases is less than their production cost. In these cases, consumer cooperative marketing can fix the problem.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Agricultural product marketing efficiency has been hampered by both external and internal market issues. These elements are also unique to agricultural product marketing in Enugu State, specifically in the Udi Local Government Area.
Markets have historically served the economy well, but they are currently insufficient in the face of rising product demand as a result of population increase and shifting dietary preferences.
Rural areas lack adequate transit services. The rural feeder roads are in very poor shape. Before even discussing transmitting their produce, entire rural villages rely primarily on human transportation.
There is a problem with marketing information because the necessary data is not available, and those that are available are not properly managed to generate the necessary information to support decision making by producers, consumers, government officials, and other market participants.
There are no formal or organised methods of relaying pricing information in Nigeria’s agricultural markets; hence, there is no mechanism for coordinating the production activities of millions of farmers with the demand of millions of individual, corporate, and institutional customers. The scarcity of data and information also limits forecasting, agricultural management, and marketing strategies.
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