ABSTRACT

The study examiued the patterns of savings and investiiien( among one hundred and twenty

aribusiness producinr Pirin 11 mi operators in Abia state. 'Fhe agribusiness Ii,iriii firms in the

state as noted operates in environment characterized by low output, low productivity, low

savings and investment and are at subsistence level. It is based on the above fact that this

study was conducted, the impOrtance of studying savings and investment patterns of

cooperative agribusiness producing farm firms in the state would not only help us to examine

the existing income levels, but would also enable us to estimate the determinants olsavings

and in vestment of cooperative agribusiness in the state. l)aia fbr this were collected using

structured c1ueSt1oI11re and were also analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple

regressions. Results from the analysis revealed that Cooperative agribusiness farm firms in

Abia state are mostly a business of the male and literates. The result also revealed that

Cooperative agribusiness producing thrin firms' pattern of savings and investment increases

as income increases. I lowever, lire uriaval lability and inadequacy of credit was the major

problem of' the a2,nt)usiness firms in the state. An econonteiric analysis of related data

unveils di tiercu I factors which influenced cool)erati ye agribusiness savings and investment as

well as lhcr r loan repaynien 1. On the side ofsavings and investment, age, interest rate,

househofu size, inconie, education, amount of money borrowed and tire duration of loan

repaynieni were sigiri tican t variables that intl ueiice savings and investment. More so, amount

received tire previous year, Ii tin size and administrative cost were significant variables that

affect loan repayment. In view of' this, I tlrereibre recommend that the government,

individuals and corporate bodies should consider these variables in designing strategies

aimed at improving the savings and investment patterns olcooperative agribusiness

producing farm firms as well as the loan repayment in the state.