EVALUATION OF THE SAVINGS AND INVESTMENT PATTERN OF AGRIBUSINESS COOPERATIVE FIRMS

This study investigated the savings and investment practices within a sample of one hundred and sixty agribusiness cooperative firms located in Akwa Ibom State. These cooperative firms in the state operate within an environment marked by challenges such as low output, limited productivity, high interest rates, technological changes, shifting social attitudes, uncertain profits, price fluctuations, and limited savings and investments. These factors collectively keep them at a subsistence level. It is in light of these circumstances that this study was undertaken.

The importance of studying evaluation of the savings and investment pattern of agribusiness cooperative firms in the state would not help us to examine the existing income levels, but would also enable us to estimate the determinants of savings and investment of agribusiness cooperative in the state. Data for this were collected using well structured questionnaire and were also analyzed using descriptive statistics and regressions, results from the analysis revealed that agribusiness cooperation firms in Akwa lbom State are mostly business of the male and literates (intelligent). 

The result also revealed that agribusiness cooperative firms pattern of savings and investment increase as income increase as shown in table (viii). However, the unavailable high rate of interest, inadequate loan, loan not available at the right time, price change are the major problems of the agribusiness firms in Akwa lbom State. An economic analysis of related data unveils different factors which influenced cooperative agribusiness savings and investment as well as their loan repayment. On the side of savings and investment, age, household size, income, educational level, amount of loan capital and duration of loan repayment were significant variables that influence savings and investment. Moreso, amount received the previous year, firm size and administrative cost were significant variables that affect loan repayment. In view of this, I therefore recommended that the government individual and cooperate bodies should consider these variables in designing strategies aimed at improving the saving and investment pattern of agribusiness cooperative firms aimed at improving the saving and investment pattern of agribusiness cooperative firm as well as the loan repayment in the state.