TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES
2.1.1 CONCEPT OF COOPERATIVE
2.1.2 COOPERATIVE PRACTICE
2.1.3 PATRONAGE FOR COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES
2.2 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATIONS
2.3 CO-OPERATIVE PRINCIPLES
2.4 TYPES OF COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATIONS
2.5 THE ROLE OF COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATIONS ON THE RURAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
2.6 PROSPECTS OF COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATIONS IN NIGERIA
2.7 THE CHALLENGES OF COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATIONS IN NIGERIA
2.8 CITIZENS PARTICIPATION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN
3.3 STUDY POPULATION
3.4 SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
3.5 DATA FOR THE STUDY: INSTRUMENTATION
3.5.1 INSTRUMENTATION
3.5.2 VALIDITY OF INSTRUMENT
3.6 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 DEMOGRAPHIC DATA ANALYSIS
4.3 DATA ANALYSIS (QUESTIONNAIRE)
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
5.2 CONCLUSION
5.3 RECOMMENDATION
REFERENCES
QUESTIONNAIRE
Abstract
This study focuses on the impact of cooperative organizations among rural communities in Abia State. A proper research was carried out To ascertain if there are cooperative businesses in rural communities in Abia State, to find out the achievements made by cooperative businesses in rural communities in Abia State, to investigate the influence of cooperative businesses in poverty alleviation in rural communities in Abia State, to find out the impact of cooperative business on the social and economic life of people in rural communities in Abia State, to investigate the challenges facing cooperative businesses in rural communities in Abia state.
In carrying out the research, research questions are been set in order to direct the researcher in administration of questionnaires. There is also review of relevant literature on related topics to the study. Questionnaires which was the instrument used was given to 120 people who were randomly selected from three different rural local government areas of Abia state by the researcher. The result obtained from the questionnaire was analysed and conclusion was derived from the analyzed result. One of the conclusions derived from the analyzed result is that cooperative business influences poverty aviation in rural communities in Abia State.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Co-operative organization as defined by Okeke, et al (2001) are institutions within whose framework co-operators or joint activities by people take place in a formalized deliberate social and economic sphere of human endeavor for socioeconomic development. Okeke, (2001) identified salient features of co-operative organizations as an association of free and independent persons that is voluntary, joint actions for their mutual benefits on equitable and democratic basis, existence of a business enterprise and the promotion of economics interest of members and its societies at large.
Cooperative organizations exist within any aspects of our economy, so long as there is felt need and willingness amongst the people to cooperate. There are therefore various types of cooperative organization in Nigeria prominent among which are: Agricultural cooperative, Consumers cooperatives and Cooperative thrift and loan societies. Cooperative organization can also be defined as a business organization where various entrepreneur cooperators pool their resources together with view of making profit for their own sustainability and economic survival such as the cooperative thrift and loan societies.
Cooperative organizations/societies emerged as self-help entities to combat economic and social inadequacies (Baarda, 2006). Cooperative organizations serves as an effective community development vehicle by their nature they build economic self-reliance and civil society. The benefits of cooperative organizations accrue to the larger society because they create local jobs, re invest locally, emphasis on education and skills raises local management capacity, reduce migration and concentration of capital. People come together in cooperative societies to pool their resources together so as to meet individual needs that could not be resolved by individual limited financial capacity (Birchall, 2004). The aim of cooperative societies is to produce goods and deliver services, and to satisfy the legitimate needs of members and also to promote cooperation, relations, participation and consequently to promote interpersonal connections. Cooperative societies provide services that benefit both members and the local community. It was also observed that it is an essential tool for development of less economically developed communities (Ibrahim, 2004).
Naturally, developing sustainable economic cooperation among individuals will be more profitable further than the creation of conflicts. It is only for this strictly pragmatic reason (and not for any other moral reasons as in the case of other social philosophies), that it is justified to found institutions that minimize conflicts and promote cooperation (Fairbairn, 1994).
The aim of introducing co-operative organization in Nigeria according to Strickland was “…not only a matter of increased or improved crops, nor even of increased credit to cultivators who wanted to change their farming methods… but it is also a question of urban and rural thrift of co-operative building, of labour contractors, afforestation and prevention of erosion and the preservation and expansion of handicraft of the supply of electric light, the organization of individuals for a better diet, for precaution against dieses and for sanitary measures in towns and country of the extension of education and of group agreements for the removal of social evils and the spreading of better customs. As may be seen, co-operatives were expected to be introduced in all the spheres of the people’s lives in Nigeria.
Hence, the value of co-operative as an effective channel of rural transformation is widely recognized in advanced and less developed countries of the world. In Nigeria for instance, one of the government objectives state the need for the use of co-operative societies, particularly for socio-economic development of rural areas.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The expected level of impact of cooperative business among rural communities have not been reached for the past years due to some challenges faced by cooperative business. The underdevelopment in rural calls for concern and one of the ways to combat it is the implementation of cooperative organizations. The cooperative businesses are not profit-oriented organization but the sole purpose of cooperative organization is to meet the need of the members. Some the challenges faced by cooperative organizations in rural communities are:
1. Lack of financial supports from the government.
2. Lack of members’ commitment to the cooperative organization.
3. Illiteracy
4. Poor management of resources.
5. Inconsistency in cooperative policy.
6. Lack of proper awareness
7. Lack of technical support.
8. Fear of failure.
The level of poverty in rural community is gradually increasing unlike in urban communities. Poverty rate in the rural area of Nigeria is relatively higher in percentage than poverty level in urban cities. Range of income earning and savings are ways of rating one’s economic stand. Nigeria as a country has been trying to make some impact in poverty reduction by launching poverty reduction programs but this impac