Impact of Demographic Factors on Agricultural Cooperatives in Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract

Agriculture is the main source of employment and income in developing nations; however, its potentials seem not to have been fully explored. This study examines demographic factors of agricultural cooperatives in Kogi State, Nigeria. Survey research design was adopted for this study. The population of this study is six thousand and forty-four (6044) registered women in agricultural cooperatives in Kogi State. The sample size is three hundred and seventy-five (375) women cooperators and multi-stage sampling technique, which involves successive stratified random sampling was used in selecting respondents. Structured questionnaire was the major source of data. The instrument was subjected to reliability test using Cronbach’s alpha consistency method. The researcher administered and collected data through the help of two research assistants. Data were analyzed using descriptive tools such as frequencies, percentages, mean ratings, standard deviation, and hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis. The findings revealed that demographic factors particularly gender significantly affects agricultural cooperatives in Kogi state. This study therefore, recommends that international Centre for Cooperative should strive and enforce equal membership right in terms of positions and benefits. Possibly there should be mandatory tenure rotation or shift based on gender line and cooperative official especially at the rural areas.