Farmers’ Perception Of Cooperative Societies In Enugu State, Nigeria

A study of farmers’ perception of cooperative societies was carried out in Enugu State. The objectives included the establishment of the reasons for joining cooperatives, the extent to which cooperatives provided the needs of farmer-members in the state and the identification of problems that hindered the development of farmers’ cooperative societies and the suggested solutions. A total of 2000 farmers randomly selected from 10 out of the 17 local government areas in the state were used as respondents for the study. Survey tools used in the study included structured questionnaire, focus group discussions and interview schedules. Simple analytical tools like tables and percentage were used to analyze data. Findings showed that most of the farmers (5.25%) that joined cooperatives did so to attract services from government thereby perceiving cooperatives as government agency rather than an autonomous business outfit. About 75% of respondents who joined cooperatives received assistance from government through their cooperatives. Poor cooperative education and illiteracy were perceived to be the greatest hindrance to growth of cooperatives in the state. Most respondents (63.71%) agreed that the best way to improve their perception of cooperatives was through intensified cooperative education programmes.Key words: Farmers, Perception, Cooperatives, Enugu State, Nigeri