Factors Influencing Household Participation in Agricultural Cooperative Organisations: Evidence From Dutsin-Ma Local Government Area, Katsina State, Nigeria

Farmers' cooperatives play a vital role in promoting rural development by giving small-scale farmers access to markets, credit, and other essential services. This study assessed the determinants of household participation in agricultural cooperative organisations in Dutsin-Ma Local Government Area of Katsina State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study described the socio-economic characteristics of member households, assessed their level of participation, identified the factors that influence participation, and examined the constraints associated with cooperative membership. Using a stratified and simple random sampling procedure, a structured questionnaire was administered to 63 cooperative-member households across three electoral wards (Dutsin-Ma A, Dutsin-Ma B, and Shema). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results showed that respondents were overwhelmingly male (98.4%) and married (95.2%), mostly aged 31– 40 years (34.9%), with household sizes concentrated between 6 and 15 members and farm holdings mostly below 2.5 hectares. Financial considerations were the leading driver of participation (57.1%), while financial constraints (52.5%) and lack of knowledge or skills (22.2%) were the leading barriers to participation. Nearly half of respondents (49.2%) attributed member attrition to a lack of cooperation among members, and concern about the reliability of other members (50.8%) was the factor most commonly cited as discouraging participation altogether. The study concludes that participation in cooperative organisations in the study area is shaped primarily by economic considerations and recommends improved access to credit, targeted formation of women's cooperatives, stronger economic incentives for members, and capacity-building programmes to sustain household participation