THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPROVING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION THROUGH CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES. (A CASE STUDY OF ANIOCHA L.G.A, ANAMBRA STATE.)
ABSTRACT
Agriculture is a science or practice of cultivating the land the keeping or breeding animal for food and for the promotion of the countries economy.
The importance of improving Agricultural production through Co-operative Society especially in Anambra State, is their source of earning food and money for their survival, both man and animal around. It is also provision of raw materials for the Agro-based Industries, which helps in the production facilities programmes.
Co-operative society is the coming together of different people in order to achieve a common goals and objectives of the society. They teamed up in Anambra State to cultivate and supply masses with food and also to feed themselves with their families.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â INTRODUCTION
In Anambra State, most inhabitants survive through Agriculture and their main occupation is subsistence farming which attracted the interest of many co-operative societies both the old and new ones. Improving the Agricultural production was their main target and at the same time lifting the level of it size and qualities. Most of the crop couldn’t grow well in order to produce as expected. The product that were several affected were yam tubers, cocoa yam, vegetable, cassava stem and tubers.
In the sixties, Anambra State economy had a mono-sectorial dependency on Agriculture as the main source of earning, and also the main source of employment. Then we took one leaf from this dependency on agriculture to a higher dependency on trade and white collar jobs.
Anambra state Agriculture is till completely preasentised, hoe, cutlass economy with a large number of small-scale holder producers. One can observe that Anambra state is still semi-substantial and their output from Agriculture production can neither feed the fearing population nor provide essential raw material for the agro-based industries. The export of the state major cash crops which has in the past supported the economy has virtually stopped.
While a lot of observers dwell on the urgent need to reinitialize this sector, Omuma (1986) implied the adverse effects of no reinitialization of the agricultural sector noted that under such conditions, all it needed was famine and kwashiorkor to be evident in the village.
Furthermore, one wondered why it is taking the state so long despite its abundant land and know-how to revitalize the agricultural sector and save the inhabitants of Anambra state who both underrated kwashiorkor stricken and undernourished. While emphasizing the importance of improving agriculture productions, through co-operatives. Igbo (1996) said, it is now on the government the dependence on the external sources of food, because it has ties their state independence to the uncertainties of ridiculed.
According to Anambra state food journal (1991), Agriculture was the back bone of the state’s economy development to thousands of Anambra state indigenes over 95% of the labour force, mostly from rural areas. Agriculture produces feeds for animals that provide proteins for man.
