A Survey on the Perceptions of Co-Operators on Gender Disparity and Financial Viability of Agricultural Cooperative Societies in Rivers State, Nigeria (Published)
Gender disparity has been a highly debated topic in many discusses and opinion circles for a very long time, yet ,this contentious topic continue to re-vibrate every now and then in many debates. How this topic has affected agricultural cooperative activities in Rivers State has not yet been captured in any literature. More so, the viability of these cooperatives has never been a front burner in the government’s agricultural policies over time. This research work aims to deliberately draw the attention of stake holders to the contentious topic of gender disparity and financial viability of the agricultural cooperatives that may have retarded its growth and development. 30 agricultural cooperative societies were randomly sampled from the council of Nigerian farmers and some unregistered cooperative societies of agric bias using structured questionnaire. The result showed evidences of gender disparity and financial insolvency. The injection of credit and elimination of gender disparity were suggested as the way forward.
Keywords: Agriculture, Cooperatives, Gender, Viability