Determinants of Output Performance of Cooperative Farmers in Anambra State, Nigeria

The output performance of Nigeria agricultural sector has had a chequered history (Oyinbo & Rekwot, 2014; Adefila, 2012; Lawal & Atte, 2006). According to Federal Republic of Nigeria (2000) in Lawal & Atte (2006), in the 1960s, agriculture accounted for well over 80 percent of the export earnings and employment; about 65 percent of the GDP (gross domestic product) and about 50 percent of the government revenue. Oyinbo & Rekwot (2014) and Eleri, Uduka, Akuto, Onuvae and Anwara (2012) also stated that the agricultural sector is strategic to national economic development and it remains a major source of food and raw material for agro-industrial processing and has strong links to employment, national income, market opportunities for industrial production and strong potentials for poverty reduction and health improvement. Anyanwuocha (2006) further supported that agriculture plays crucial role in the nation's socioeconomic transformation, apart from being the source of food to the people, it is the greatest employer of labour and provider of incomes, sources of industrial raw materials, and export products for foreign exchange earnings, and has in the past been an important provider of resources for investments in other sectors of the economy.