Contributions Of Women Co-Operatives To Women’s Access To Credit

1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 GENERAL OVER VIEW OF THE STUDY
One of the constraint face by Rural Women economic advancement in Nigeria has been blamed by a school of thought on the inability of Nigeria women’s to embrace co-operative way of doing business Helm (1965). This is because cooperatives are one of the most effective vehicles for organizing rural production.
The paper aims to analyze the effectiveness on the contribution of women cooperative to women access to credit as a method of advancing the development of women in Nigeria gender analysis is utilized to explain the disadvantage and marginalization of women in the cooperative. It is noted that Nigeria women access to credit receptive to cooperatives, which are made attractive to them by engaging in topics pertinent to women’s development, such as access to credit, training, economic, health and education activity and advancement of women’s participation in the cooperative movement.
Cooperatives are not only the most suitable organization and frame work for accelerated rural development but they are veritable instruments for assisting women in the achievement of increase output of farm products for instance, in the procurement of farms inputs like fertilizers, improved seeds and seedling, credit as well as in the product storage and marketing.
The international bank mission which student and reporter on the Nigeria economy in 1954 appreciated this favourable social climate when it said “we think full support should be given to cooperative as valid for economic organization fully compatible which Nigeria tradition and social sentiment (Onuha 1978).
The contribution of women cooperatives to women access to credit more especially women cooperative where rural women would be actively involved in the development of their own area. However given the fact that Nigeria is developing nations oriented on the unrestrained capitalism, the question then is how these women cooperation can help the women access to credit to improve their economic social educational culture and political status, then provide growth and development.
The enthusing and spirit with which some women embrace the formation of cooperatives in Nigeria especially in Umuahia North local government area of Abia state has shown the contributions of women cooperative to women access to credit develop conscious and quite willing disposed to pool their resources together in order to improve their living standards, it is therefore necessary to ascertain the role of women cooperatives especially in Umuahia North local government area which the expectation of women has not been easily meet which lead to apathy among women towards their cooperative societies.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS
Modern women co-operatives were formed to enter for socio-economic needs of the people and enhance women access to credit, but there are many problems and in most cases educational:
1. ECONOMIC PROBLEMS: Inadequate finances most of the societies in the area lack capital to embark on more realistic projects. Also they face he problem of finding their societies adequately, this is due to the fact most women in their societies are house wives and hardly work to earn income.
2. BAD MANAGEMENT: Most of the time the management abuse the loan granted to members by suing that loan in an unproductive ventures. There is also misappropriation of society’s funds and assets.
3. INADEQUATE INFRASTRUCTURE: They lack such infrastructures as to help them prosper in their societies such are storage facilities, machines etc.
4. SOCIAL PROBLEM: This touches on the male perception of women’s role. As a result of the traditional social systems more than nay other thing this gives men more reoccupation and status than women. The work and place of the later are relegated to the background, in this circumstance many men do not allow their wives to join cooperatives in the village since men assume to represent their wives in co-operative meetings.
5. EDUCATIONAL PROBLEM: The educational qualification of women especially in access set up as Umuahia determines the number and level of women participation in women cooperative.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
To study the socio-economic characteristic of the members of women cooperative society in the area of study
To make policy recommendations based on the findings.
To study the sources of fund of these cooperatives

1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This scope is limited to the selected registered women cooperatives in Umuahia North local government area.

1.5 HYPOTHESIS
Ho: women cooperatives do not contribute to women access to credit.
Hi: women cooperatives contribute to women access to credit.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will be of a great importance to the following groups:
• GOVERNMENT: This study is most conspicuous in its services as an aid to the rural development especially in this period of economic recession.
• PUBLIC: this will highlight the level of the contribution of women cooperative to women’s access to credit in Nigeria; it will eliminate doubts as to whether or not women cooperatives are of any significance to credit in Nigeria.

1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
With the process of this research, the following tentative limitations were outlined:
1. TIME: as a student in high institution time may likely affect the researcher in conducting the research work.
2. INADEQUATE FUND: fund availability may likely affect this research work because of the intended movements from one place to the other to enable the researcher obtained necessary information.
3. LACK OF ADEQUATE DATA: insurance in Nigeria is an area of especially much research have root been one locally so this is among the problems the research may encounter.
4. ATTITUDE OF RESPONDENT: the behaviour of our mass transit operators because of their level of education, ignorance and unawareness will also be expected to work the work.
5. RECORD KEEPING BY THE MASS TRANSIT OPERATIONS: by the type of staff they employ will also affect source of information.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS.
a. WOMEN: they are those that act or think independently not following others or being ordered. Work for herself meant that she could be her own women. More at heart, hell, honest, possessed, substance, would a female worker, especially one who works with her hands. A woman who comes from a place where men or whose job or interest is connected with the things mentioned.
b. Cooperative may be defined as involving doing something together or working together with others towards a shared aim, helpful by doing what you are asked to do, owned and run by the people involved with the profits shared by them.
c. ACCESS: is a way of entering or reaching a place the opportunity or right to use something or somebody to open a computer file in order to get or add information, to reach, enter or sue something.
d. ROLES: the function or position that somebody has or is expected to have in an organization in a society or in a relationship, the degree to which somebody or something is involved in a situation or an activity and the effect that they have on it.
e. ECONOMY: the relationship between production, trade, and the supply of money in a particular country or region a country when you are thinking about its economic system. The use of the time, money etc that is available in a way that avoids waste. That is Ireland was one of the fastest growing economics in Western Europe in the 1990s.
f. MULTIPURPOSE: able to be used for several different purposes.
g. Credit: this type of cooperative which is assumed to be the easiest to organized and run provides its members with convenient and secure means of saving money and of obtaining credit at reasonable rates of interest.