MARKETING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS THROUGH CONSUMERS COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES

MARKETING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS THROUGH CONSUMERS COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Recognizing Nigeria’s enormous agricultural potentials, the government has agreed that the country should resolve to make agriculture the primary source of income for the economy and Enugu state. Agricultural development must focus on increasing agricultural productivity in order to generate significant surpluses. Surplus issues lead to marketing issues because when they engage in large production, there will be surpluses left over. Because the majority of our farmers are illiterate and poor, they are reliant on rural usurers for capital at the highest rate of interest during the cultivation period, and they are forced to sell their products to middlemen because they lack the capacity to sell directly to consumers. As

As a result, they do not receive a fair price for their products. As a result, it is clear that our farmers are becoming poorer by the day due to the exploitation of middlemen and usurers. Under these conditions, cooperative marketing could serve as a model for agricultural marketing for our farmers.

Some activities have always been undertaken by groups rather than individuals throughout human history, simply because it was a better and more economical way of doing things. A consumer cooperative is a method of working together with others who have similar or identical needs or problems. It is a method of pooling resources and human effort in a structured, disciplined manner. A consumer cooperative can market agricultural products by combining the efforts of two people. or more companies collaborating on advertising and promotion to achieve the same goal. This is sometimes referred to as cooperative advertising, but it is not limited to the advertising industry. This is most commonly seen when a manufacturer supports the efforts of a retailer, but it can also be used by multiple businesses looking to pool their resources to reduce advertising and promotion costs (DiBona, 2010). Money lenders, rotating savings collectors, mutual assistance groups, Self-Help Groups (SHGS), and other financial market participants form an informal network. Self-Help groups have long existed in Nigeria as informal or semi-formal associations known as Isusu in Igbo, Adashe in Hausa, Ajo in Yoruba, Yakkishar in Ngas, Bam and Oku in Tiv, and others. Kalabari Ijaw, for example. If these organizations are registered as cooperative societies, they become formal credit institutions (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 so on, and provide a source of income for millions of Nigerians living in both rural and urban areas. Cooperative Societies have recently grown significantly in number, membership, and activities across the country. In Nigeria, they are a veritable source of funds mobilization and participatory credit administration. They are structured to mobilize savings and direct financial resources to individual needs, primarily consumption. Cooperative Societies are said to supplement the efforts of individuals.

the formal financial institutions by mobilizing and channeling financial resources to Nigeria’s deficit areas (particularly low and medium income earners in both rural and urban areas). Their importance in the economic life of the Nigerian economy cannot be overstated. There is no doubt that cooperatives, whose primary goals are centered on the social and economic aspects of their members and, by extension, the society as a whole, can be used for this purpose. Cooperatives, while traditionally established to cater solely for the welfare of members, have been discovered to be a veritable tool for economic progress and an improved standard of living in an ever-changing world.

Farmers are illiterate and impoverished, so they lack the ability to run businesses. Farming activities are carried out in an effective and efficient manner. Farmers lack the educational qualifications and financial resources to store their products and transport them to market for a higher price. As a result, they are forced to sell their products to middlemen at a lower price, which is usually less than their production cost. Under these conditions, consumer cooperative marketing can solve the problem.

1.2 STATLEMENT OF PROBLEM

External and internal market factors have hampered agricultural product marketing efficiency. These factors are also unique to agricultural product marketing in Enugu State and, in particular, the Udi Local Government Area. Markets have historically served the economy well, but they are currently insufficient in the face of rising product demand due to population growth and changing dietary demand patterns. In rural areas, transportation services are inadequate. Rural feeder roads are in poor condition. Before they even think about transporting their produce, entire rural communities rely primarily on human transport.

There is a problem with marketing information because the necessary data is not available, and even those that are available are not accurate.

being properly managed in order to generate the necessary information to support decision making by producers, consumers, government officials, and other market participants.

In Nigerian agricultural markets, there are no official or organized methods of transmitting price information; thus, there is no mechanism for coordinating the production activities of millions of farmers with the demand of millions of individual, corporate, and institutional consumers. Forecasting, farm management, and marketing practices are also hampered by a lack of data and information.

Another issue associated with poor agricultural marketing in Nigeria is the existence of an inefficient and inadequate storage system. As a result, there is significant waste at the farm level, and the inadequate storage system contributes to price fluctuations in agricultural markets.

When produce prices are low during harvest time, farmer income suffers. Price fluctuations are sometimes magnified by speculative activities in the face of a lack of market information, all in favor of marketers, exacerbating farmers’ poor economic position.

Another issue that is related to the low level of agricultural produce is a poor storage system.

Furthermore, the limited nature of raw agricultural produce processing limits how this potentially flourishing agro-business can contribute to increasing the economic value of food, improving farmers’ income by providing additional outlets for their produce, particularly during harvest seasons when prices tend to be low, generating employment, improving food and other produce storage, and reducing reliance on imported processed food and beverages.

food and other produce, as well as reducing reliance on imported processed food and other agro-industrial products.

In addition to the problems associated with insufficient agricultural facilities for agricultural produce, there are methods such as irradiation and freeze dying to reduce rotting in particular and spoilage in general, thereby increasing the country’s effective agricultural supplies.

Another economic issue associated with agricultural marketing in Nigeria, specifically Enugu state, is the lack of product standardization in the market. A standardized system of grading and measurement, which improves marketing efficiency, is not present in Nigerian agricultural markets. Sizes, color, and smell are used arbitrarily to determine grades. Measures come in various types of metal and plastic bowls, dishes, tins

Calabashes and a basket. Because the use of weighing scales is limited, prices are determined by haggling between sellers and buyers. Furthermore, sorting and packaging activities are not carried out, reducing the country’s ability to use a sound marketing system to boost farmers’ income and ensure adequate consumer protection.

The Nigerian agricultural markets were characterized by agricultural produce supply and price instabilities. Due to the nature of agricultural production in Nigeria and the constraints imposed by the previously mentioned marketing issues, farmers generally adjust current productions based on prevailing prices in the most recent period or season. Farmers will cut production when commodity prices are lower than expected in a given season due to oversupply in the market.

Reduce production and supply less into the market the following period. This subsequent short supply causes supply and price gyrations that follow a cobweb-like pattern and can be explosive depending on how elastic the supply side of the commodity market is. In summary, agricultural processing and marketing are fraught with issues such as:

– Poor agricultural product storage, resulting in rottenness.

– Inadequate market information system.

– Consumers’ low market demand for value-added products.

– Consumers’ limited purchasing power.

– Firms compete fiercely in terms of location, food quality, and pricing.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The study’s objectives are as follows:

1. To examine the current agricultural product marketing system in Enugu State’s Udi Local Government Area.

2. To determine whether consumer cooperative societies play a role in marketing agricultural products in Enugu State’s Udi Local Government Area.

3. To investigate the challenges of marketing agricultural products in Enugu State’s Udi Local Government Area.

4. To suggest ways to improve agricultural product marketing through consumer cooperative societies in Enugu state’s Udi Local Government Area.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION 

1. How is the current agricultural product marketing system in Enugu State’s Udi Local Government Area?

2. Do consumer cooperative societies play a role in marketing agricultural products in Enugu State’s Udi Local Government Area?

3. What are the challenges of marketing agricultural products in Enugu State’s Udi Local Government Area?

4. What are the strategies for improving agricultural product marketing through consumer cooperative societies in Enugu State’s Udi Local Government Area?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

The following hypotheses were developed based on the research questions:

H0: The current agricultural product marketing system in Enugu State’s Udi Local Government Area is inadequate.

H1: The current agricultural product marketing system in Enugu State’s Udi Local Government Area is satisfactory.

H0: Consumer Co-operative Societies have no role in marketing agricultural products in Enugu State’s Udi Local Government Area.

H2: Consumer Cooperative Societies play an important role in the marketing of agricultural products in Enugu State’s Udi Local Government Area.

H0: The problems with marketing agricultural products in Enugu State’s Udi Local Government Area are not a lack of storage facilities, a poor market information system, or a lack of consumer demand for value-added products.

H3: The issues of advertising Agricultural products in Enugu state’s Udi Local Government Area suffer from a lack of storage facilities, a poor market information system, and a lack of consumer demand for value-added products.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is important to note that the following will be extremely important during the completion of this project.

RESEARCHERS: This work will be useful to other researchers working on this or similar topics because it will serve as a foundation for a review of related literature as well as a stepping stone for future researchers.

ECONOMY: This work will help to increase national output and thus national income. This is due to increased operational efficiency and effectiveness, as well as the state’s overall success, which will be achieved through adequate processing and marketing.

LAW MAKERS: Lawmakers will implement policies that will boost agricultural production and marketing in Nigeria. The corporation’s standard will be improved as a result of the information gained from this research.

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study is on “Marketing agricultural products through consumer cooperatives societies in Enugu state”. The study’s scope will be limited to Enugu state’s Udi Local Government Area.

1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The researcher faced the following constraints, which limited his efforts in developing the research work.

FINANCE: Because the researcher is a full-time student, she has been discouraged from traveling to or visiting all Udi Local Government Area and its Environs to collect data for her study due to a lack of funds. As a result, she has chosen only a few households due to proximity and ease of contact with the community.

TIME: There is a time limit for completing this project. It would have been preferable to spend more time covering the subject and exhausting it, but this is not possible.

PRESSURE OF ACADEMIC WORK: The researcher’s ability to conduct extensive research has been hampered by the pressures of academic work.

1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Marketing is the act of advertising or promoting something.

Other things that customers can benefit from.

Agriculture refers to the science or practice of farming.

Soil cultivation or animal husbandry.