INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE RURAL AREAS THROUGH COOPERATIVE AND AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE RURAL AREAS THROUGH COOPERATIVE AND AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Co-operative societies in Nigeria, functioning as small scale business, have usually confined themselves to providing production and consumer goods, credit and service to their individuals members. In primary societies, membership averages between 20 and 40. It is rear to fins a cooperative in the country with a membership of more than 100, except in the urban an institution saving and credit cooperatives.

The provision of these goods and services has often been restricted mainly to the agricultural sector. These goods and services include the provision of production inputs (mostly credit) and marketing, especially the traditional exports in the 1940s and 50s to set up some industries (see Onuoha 1973: 14-23 and 30-31, Adeyiye 1928: 90-91) these efforts have not been sustained, in recent years therefore cooperatives have generally not made their impact felt in the industrial sector.

Even in the agricultural sector, they have not been quite effective (see Chukwu 1993:123) because among others they have not really identified potentials areas of investment, nor do they appear to know that they can undertake investment which facilitate the business operations of their members without the cooperatives themselves going into the direct production of the final consumer products has cast aspersions on their veracity as veritable instruments for sustainable socio-economic development on the country for the concept of sustainable development see for example (Eboh 1995)

1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The investment opportunities in the rural area through cooperative and agricultural enterprises has been and  is still faced with many constraints and problems that hindered the pace of the anticipated  rapid growth.  This includes inadequate basic infrastructure facilities, weak raw material base, utilization and unavailability of production and obsolence, shortage of managerial manpower, strong competition from imports, institution administrative bottlenecks, competition of external resources, intractable plight of the national electric power authority (NEPA) now power holding Nigeria plc to supply power which remained a cog in the wheel of industrial progress, burden of cost and poor sales of production input, and the output income dumping and inconsistency in government policy.

1.3    OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of the study are to ascertain the needs of investment opportunities in rural cooperatives in Nigeria. This study will equally aim at.

a.  Identifying the investment opportunities

b.  Investigating the need real investment by cooperatives

c.  Investigating also the possible investment areas by the   cooperatives.

d.  Investigating the investment opportunities.

1.4    SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Cooperatives in energy economy ensure that profits are made through their credit facilities and investment opportunities. This study will go a long way helping the cooperatives societies to know the appropriate areas to invest their money on.  Also it is the belief of the researcher that meaningful contributions would be made to the already existing literature on the investment opportunities for the rural areas through cooperative and agricultural production Nigeria rural cooperatives in agricultural and industry. Moreover this work will have positive influence on the educational studies and will aid other researchers working in the field of study in the course of their research.

1.5    SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study attempts identify some investment opportunities in the agricultural and industrial sectors of Nigeria rural cooperatives using Anambra, Delta and Ebony states for illustration. It goes further to discuses the financial, technical and management requirements for some of these investment and how to raise adequate funds for them. To aid this study Ebony, Anambra and Delta states will be used as reference states.

Are as well as the problems that were encountered in the course of this study include, cost time, constraint and the problems of souring information. This information work also has the problem of inadequate financial resources, coupled with excessive transport cost that was experienced during data collect and high cost of photocoping some relevant materials, there were also the problem of sourcing information, which is normally caused by the uncompromising attitude of some of the cooperative officials in charge of relevant information sources. It is the belief of the researcher that the results produced from this study will give an accurate and reliable solution to the problem under study.

1.6  DEFINITION OF TERMS

Cooperative:  Is an association of two people who volunty themselves to make an organization.   

Export:  Is a means of exporting goods from one country to another.

Restricted:  To limit.

Potentials:  Means powerful existing in possibility not in reality expressing power possibility, liberty, or obligation.