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Full Project – Difficulties and prospective facing agricultural cooperative in Abia state

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CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Climate change is one of the most serious environmental threats facing mankind worldwide. It affects agriculture in several ways, including its direct impact on food production. Climate change, which is attributable to the natural climate cycle and human activities, has adversely affected agricultural productivity in Africa (Ziervogel et al. 2006). Available evidence shows that climate change is global, likewise its impacts; but the most adverse effects will be felt mainly by developing countries, especially those in Africa, due to their low level coping capabilities (Nwafor 2007; JAGTAP 2007). Nigeria is one of these developing countries (Odjugo, 2010). As the plannet warms, rainfall patterns shift, and extreme events such as droughts, floods, and forest fires become more frequent (Zoellick 2009), which results in poor and unpredictable yields, thereby making farmers more vulnerable, particularly in Africa (UNFCCC, 2007). Farmers (who constitute the bulk of the poor in Africa), face prospects of tragic crop failures, reduced agricultural productivity, increased hunger, malnutrition and diseases (Zoellick 2009). It is projected that crop yield in Africa may fall by 10-20% by 2050 or even up to 50% due to climate change (Jones and Thornton, 2003),particularly because African agriculture is predominantly rain-fed and hence fundamentally dependent on the vagaries of weather. As the people of Africa strive to overcome poverty and advance economic growth, this phenomenon threatens to deepen vulnerabilities, erode hard-won gains and seriously undermine prospects for development (WBGU 2004, Zoellick 2009). There is therefore the need for concerted efforts toward tackling this menace.

Much of climate change agricultural research has tended to concentrate on assessing the sensitivity of various attributes of crop systems (e.g/livestock yields, pest, diseases, weeds etc)- the biophysical aspects of food production, with little or no regard to the socioeconomic aspects. These partial assessments most often consider climate change effects in isolation, providing little insight into how and what the farmers are doing to cope with climate change. To better address the food security concerns that are central to economic and sustainable development agendas, is desirable to also address these aspects of climate change and agriculture. Wisner et al (2004) reports that the vulnerability of agriculture is not determined by the nature and magnitude of environmental stress like climate change per set, but by the combination of the societal capacity to cope with and/or recover from environmental change. While the coping capacity and degree of exposure is related to environmental changes, they are both also related to changes in societal aspects such as land use and cultural practices. This paper discusses the challenges to agricultural adaption to climate in Nigeria. This is important because climate change is expected to present a heightened

risk, new combinations of risks and potentially grave consequences, particularly in Africa due to its direct dependence on rain-fed agriculture as noted above. Accordingly there is the need for an emphasis on ‘anticipatory adaption’’ (UDNDP, 2007), that is the proactive rather than the reactive management of climate change risk. This can only be feasible if the potential problems/challenges to adaption are preemptively analyzed. Most studies on climate change and agriculture in Africa have tended to concentrate on actual and projected impacts as well as farmers’ coping/adaptation strategies (Adejuwon, 2016, FAO 2007, BNRC 2008, Apata et al., 2010, SEI 2008, Ajetomobi et al., 2010, Mendelsohn et al., 2000, Stige et al., 2006, Agoumi, 2003, Thornton et al., 2006) There has been little or no work in the area of challenges of adaptation. This paper will there attempt, through a survey of the literature, to this gap.

We begin by looking at hunger and poverty. This is because agriculture in Nigeria is predominantly in the hands of rural smallholder farmers, who have been generally described as poor and hungry. Moreover, since the discovery of oil in Nigeria, the attention of the government has been diverted away from agriculture to petroleum resource development. We shall next consider government funding for agricultural science and technology as a challenge to climate change adaptation. Further, there are traditional farming practices that the typical Nigerian farmer is accustomed to, which he/she may find it difficult to modify or change, even though these may pose serious challenges to climate change adaptation. The next challenge we shall discus is therefore traditional agricultural practices. The issue of globalization and accompanying trade liberalization and how this may pose a challenge is discuss next. Poor infrastructure, weak institutions and bad governance are believed to be the general features of most African countries. This will be discussed under Policies, Institutions and Public goods. Finally, the paper will discuss information and human capital as a challenge to agricultural adaptation to climate change, essentially, because, the two have been widely described as poor, in most African countries. The paper will end with two sections- recommendations and then conclusions. However, in order to place the problem in context, we shall first of all take a look at the patterns of climate change impact on agriculture, which will provide a background for the discussion.

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Agriculture is as old as history of man; the history of the development of motivating process is also as old as the divisions of labour and consequent need is indulge in exchange of production between one man and another.

In the older days, agricultural output were motivated by barter system. But as time went on coins, cowries were introduced and used as medium of exchange wiping out the clumsy trade by barter. Not long paper money was introduced. Producers has to travel bug distance to make sales. Communication was made through path rods with the coming of European in Nigeria the economy saw a new change. Both agricultural and industrial products were encouraged, though emphasis was more an export crops (Adam, Graham and Von Pisclkey 1984).

Agriculture is the main story of the economy now there has been a revolution in agricultural in which the military government is now facing people back to farming. The difficulties is that demand for food is more than supply even though the supply for agricultural products are at a low level, some communication that would have been alleviated of the difficulties encountered in marketing of their farm yield. One thing is to produce items and other things are to market it effectively to the final users. (Parkm Hwang and Kin 2000).

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS

This study is meant to find out the difficulties encountered in agricultural cooperative product. The case study of some selected cooperative in Obiom Ngwa Local Government Area of Abia State which the researcher is studying like most agricultural producing area. Abia State is faced with a lot of marketing of their agricultural produce. There range from the following factors;

Lack of education.
Poor transport facilities.
Inadequate storage facility.
Lack of good marketing outlets.
Lack of complete autonomy on the part of the government in discharging its monetary function effectively to backup agriculture in their economy.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

In the light of the native of this difficulties of agricultural cooperative products the following objectives are mapped out;

To identify the factors hindering the realization of prospective of agricultural cooperative product in Obioma Ngwa, Abia State.
To assess the nature of road networks.
To make recommendation for effective improvement of the system.
To determine the storage facilities with a view to ensuring acceptable standard.
To find out the level of education of the farmers.
To assess the knowledge of price system in marketing of their products.
To examine the various monetary instruments or tools used by the agricultural and appraise their effectiveness.

1.8 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

(1) To what extent can transport facilities hinder the agricultural cooperative product?

(2) What effect would level of illiteracy effect agricultural cooperative products?

(3) Does epileptic pricing policy hamper agricultural development?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research is centered on Obioma Ngwa local government area though not completely exhaustive, but it will serve as a good background for those intending to carry out further work on this other related topics. The research of this study will have the following significance;

It will enable the researcher as certain the difficulties involved in marketing of agricultural product in Abia State, especially in some selected cooperative in Obioma Ngwa local government area.
Some selected cooperative in Obioma Ngwa local government will also know some of the difficulties hindering effective agricultural cooperative products.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study was conducted using farmers in some selected cooperative in Obioma Ngwa local government area. This research boarders in identification of the root causes of the presents difficulties of agricultural cooperation product on the economy especially some selected cooperative in Obioma Ngwa local government area of Abia State which is the research area of study.

1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The research as a whole was not smooth as expected. The attribute to many foreseen and unforeseen difficulties. One of such difficulties include the uncooperative attribute of some respondents, they did not understand the relevant of the study, they thought that government was trying to collect names of taxable adults, so this made the reliability of information supplied by some respondent doubtful. There was also the difficulties of bureaucratic redtapism especially with the various planning agencies from which information were sought, some of the information regained by the researcher could not be supplied as they term then top secret. This also affected the research in some ways.

Lastly, limitation by factors of time and finance, the limited time at the researcher disposal did not allow for choosing a large sample or even study the population. This also limit extend to which the research findings could be generalized. Finance plays a vital role in any research work, as an individual or student the research was financially handicapped, this also affect the research.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

In 1995 Enyioko carried out a research on marketing of Bank Service in Enugu Metropolis Anambra State. Difficulties and prospective of commercial bank selected a population sample of 100 bank official and 250 customer. He sample 10 different bank in Enugu and found out that customer spent about 1½ -2hours in transacting their business, long queries occurred frequently in banks that the relationship between staff and customer was cordial. The researcher then concluded that the marketing concept in Bank service was ineffective and inefficient in most bank samples. It should be noted that this conclusion made by the researcher cannot be application to all bank, since there were limitation to this study. Also may be if the customers were large and more bank were surveyed the information could be different from the one he got.

Ijeome (1983) carried out study on difficulties and prospective of marketing of bank service in Anambra State. His findings were that customers change bank because of poor service and poor attitude of bank and the non existence of the marketing department. From these findings, the researcher concluded, they were understand and were managed by untrained personnel this conclusion was base on the fact that the banks were in a senatorial zone and the researcher got his finding from just five (5) banks which is not good representative.

The researcher selected his sample of 320 customers from these five banks. There was no survey of the bank officials. The researcher was base because he drew up his conclusion from just the finding from the customer without bothering to sample the bank officials and get their own opinion about the whole research.

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