STRENGTHENING/IMPROVING THE CAPACITY OF NIGERIAN RICE/MAIZE PRODUCERS ORGANIZATION   COOPERATIVE EDUCATION COOPERATIVES PRACTICES: IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIZED INSTITUTIONAL CEREALS/GRAINS PURCHASES ALONG ITS VALUE CHAIN

Introduction In general, the importance of Agric cannot be over-emphases Agricultural co-operations are agricultural- producer-owned association, with the sole aim of: Linking members with finance Agricultural inputs Information dissemination Good output market

A viable cooperatives will bring about a sector transformation e. g A viable cooperatives will bring about a sector transformation e.g. Taiwan, India, and Vietnam In Africa, most cooperative have failed in their set objectives, even turn to be counter productive The purpose of agricultural cooperatives is to help farmers increase their yields and incomes by: Pooling their resources Support collective service provisions Economic empowerment Agricultural cooperatives are seen as critical in achieving the government’s developmental targets in the growth and transformation Plan of achieving food security

The main categories of agricultural cooperatives fall into the following: Supply of agricultural inputs Joint production Agricultural marketing In African the common category is the agricultural marketing But to some extent, both marketing and supply of agricultural input thrives in cooperative organization

Role of Co-operatives in agriculture Agricultural cooperatives facilitate small producers’ access to: Natural resources such as land and water Information, knowledge and extension services Markets, food, and productive assets such as seeds and tools Policy and decision making Cooperative development in many countries has shown that farmers who are effectively organized can benefit from aggregated links to markets and services, from accessing centralized services that can help them achieve higher yields and higher incomes, and from speaking with a collective voice to advocate for their needs

Contd… Agricultural cooperatives help farmers solve a collective action problem, i.e. how to procure inputs most efficiently and market their outputs on more favorable terms than they could achieve by themselves Co-operatives are used by the government and NGOs to extend training and other capacity building initiatives. Through co-operatives, farmers can attract traders and institutional buyers, and increase their negotiating power Co-operatives have also started apart from agriculture to emerge in other sectors such as transport or commodity transformation, thus creates more income within the community and enhances youth and women empowerment food security

Definition of value chain A full range of activities which are required to bring a product or services from conception through the different phases of production to delivery to final customers, and final disposal after use (Kaplinsky & Morris, 2004) The flow of a product from production points through processing to the market occurs in a chain At each phase in the chain, there are actors which plays a key role The stimuli to the roles is the customers choices and demand gap created.

Who are the chain actors? Value chain actors are those individuals or institutions that conduct transactions in a particular product as it moves through the value chain. These includes: Inputs suppliers Farmers Traders Processors Transporters Wholesalers Retailers Final Consumers In many cases there is more than one actor, as well as multiple channels that supply more than one final market.

Major functions of actors within the value chain Considering our common grain, The main functions in the grain value chain starts with market demand Determined by consumers-household and industrial consumers Without demand, the actors component would remain unprogressive Activities includes input supply, moving onto production, harvesting, post harvesting handling and storage Different technology is involved and interacting with different participants in the value chain

Input supply Production inputs: Good seed, fertilizers, crop protection products, water and land (soil) Processing inputs Marketing/trade input The efficiency of a country`s input supply system therefore has a major bearing on the performance of the entire value chain as the entire process often affects the price and quality of diversity of the products

A VALUE CHAIN MODEL

TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION

ROLES OF VALUE CHAIN IN AGRIC Value Chains focused on improving productivity, competitiveness, entrepreneurship, and Small-Medium Enterprises (SME) growth The critical role of organizing the flow from farmer to consumer opportunities through; research and development, input suppliers ,production, processing, marketing and finance Transform commodities into higher value products-a process that can play an important role in poverty reduction.

Benefits of Commodity Value Chain Approach Buyers are assured of product quality, supply and safety through integrated systems from production to retail Suppliers are more assured of a market and the benefits of economies of scale Improved access to markets Reduced time to respond to changing customer demand, as a result of better communication with chain partners More rewarding business relationships – collaborative versus adversarial.

Conclusion There are enormous value chain associated to individual agricultural commodities across the federation, considering how rich Nigeria is in agriculture. Therefore, lets encourage value addition at every stage of the chain without short circuiting, as this will stimulate the SME`s and revitalized the economy, thus sustaining production and empowerment even among our teeming population

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