Cooperative Financing and the Growth of Catfish Aquaculture Value Chain in Nigeria

Cooperative-based growth model for agricultural enterprises is gradually gaining popularity in application. This study examined the effect of cooperative financial intervention on the growth of catfish aquaculture value chain in Nigeria. Primary data collected, with well-structured questionnaire from 120 participants in aquaculture value chain, were analyzed with descriptive statistical tools, cost and return function and 4-point likert-type scale. The result shows that 32.3% and 27.3% of processors and input suppliers accessed N320,000 and N270,000, respectively. Only 18.2% of producers accessed N180,000. The result indicates that there are more catfish producers than any other operators in the value chain. There is interdependence between catfish producers and input suppliers, processors and marketers in the value chain. Furthermore, catfish processors and inputs suppliers accessed more cooperative loan because their activities were capital intensive. The relatively high amount of cooperative fund accessed by these groups translated high growth rate of 55% and 53%, respectively. The major constraints to the growth of catfish value chain were inadequate credit access and high expenditure on inputs. Operators in the catfish aquaculture value chain should be encouraged to attend workshops on management techniques to improve the efficiency of their businesses.