Assessment of the Role of Cooperative Societies in Poverty Alleviation in Rural Jigawa State

Rural poverty remains one of Nigeria's most persistent development challenges, and cooperative societies are embedded in national poverty alleviation policy as community-based instruments for income enhancement and social protection. This study assessed the role of cooperative societies in alleviating poverty among rural households in Jigawa State, North West Nigeria. A descriptive survey was conducted among 200 cooperative member households and 100 non-member households in Hadejia, Gumel, and Ringim LGAs. The UNDP Multidimensional Poverty Index was adapted to measure poverty levels across health, education, and living standard dimensions. Structured questionnaires captured cooperative service utilisation data, monthly income, food security status, and children's school enrolment. Independent samples t-tests and logistic regression were used for analysis. Results showed that cooperative member households had significantly lower multidimensional poverty scores than non-member households (p < 0.001). School enrolment rates for children aged 6 to 12 were higher in cooperative member households (76.5 percent versus 58.3 percent). Monthly household income was 38.7 percent higher among cooperative members. Access to group savings and emergency loans within the cooperative was credited as the primary poverty buffer by 69.5 percent of members. The study concludes that cooperatives reduce multidimensional poverty in rural Jigawa State and recommends deepening cooperative outreach to non-member households through community mobilisation and state government cooperative awareness campaigns. Keywords: poverty alleviation, cooperative societies, rural households, Jigawa State, North West Nigeria