2026 Vol-6 Issue-2 | SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS AND RURAL FARMERS' PARTICIPATION IN AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES IN THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY, NIGERIA

This study assessed the influence of selected socioeconomic characteristics on rural farmers’ participation in agricultural cooperative activities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria. Primary data were collected from 220 registered members of agricultural cooperatives selected from the six Area Councils of the FCT using a multistage sampling technique. The respondents were selected from a sampling frame of 2,200 cooperative members obtained from the FCTAgricultural Development Programme (ADP). Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed using the Multivariate Probit Model across six cooperative activities: access to financial loans, marketing of agricultural produce, access to agricultural inputs, training in Good Agronomic Practices (GAP), asset acquisition, and promotion of knowledge sharing. The results showed that education had a positive and significant influence on participation in access to financial loans (β = 0.1115, z = 2.96, p < 0.01) and promotion of knowledge sharing (β = 0.244, z = 5.16, p < 0.001). Age had a positive and significant influence on access to agricultural inputs (β = 0.0736, z = 2.22, p < 0.05), whereas household size had a negative and significant influence (β = −0.177, z = −2.44, p < 0.05). No significant influence was observed for marketing, GAPtraining, or asset acquisition. The study concludes that socioeconomic characteristics have selective influences on participation in different cooperative activities and recommends strengthening farmer education, cooperative credit procedures, and agricultural input support.