Digitilization in agricultural cooperatives: a perspective from members in rice value chain of Anambra State, Nigeria

Agriculture is a sector crucial to the growth of the Nigerian economy. In the past few years, its contribution to gross domestic product (gdp) has averaged at about 25 percent. Smallholders pool their resources in collective action to form agricultural cooperatives in order to increase farm productivity and income. These cooperatives account significantly for the development of the agriculture sector. Digitalization, on the other hand, has gained currency as a transformative strategy for agriculture. This study aimed to examine in broad terms the perspectives of digitalization in the rice value chain created by members of cooperative societies in Anambra State. A total of 180 members of cooperative societies across the four agricultural zones of the state who participate in the rice value chain were selected for the study using a multistage sampling technique. A structured and validated questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents. The data were consequently analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage & ranking) and inferential statistics (chisquare & cramer’s v). The study identified rudimentary digital tools and that technologies enabled members to use mobile phones for the purposes of financial services, input delivery, market access and weather prediction. However, technologies requiring high-level skills for their implementation were obviously lacking among these cooperators. Also, the ways in which individual, institutional and technological factors limit adoption of these technologies were empirically identified. However, members generally welcomed the use and application of digital tools to improve their value chain activities. There was the perception among members that though digitalization was necessary, its unguarded use in the processes of cooperatives could erode their participation in the governance of the cooperative, thereby compromising the principle of democratic member control. The study identified an urgent need for a strong digital infrastructure backbone, encouraging the formation of agricultural digital solution cooperatives, digital literacy programs support from companies providing special skill agricultural digitalization solutions, and instituting government grants to support the high cost of investments required for digitalization.