CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Transport is regarded as an important factor involved in agricultural development all over the world. It is the only means by which food produced at farm site is moved to different homes as well as markets. Transport creates market for agricultural produce, enhances interaction among geographical and economic regions and opens up new areas to economic focus. There are complex relationships that vary both spatially and over time between transport and development. However, for any development to take place, transport plays a crucial role. Ogunsanya (1981) observed that there are three types of routes in the rural areas viz; bush paths, unsurfaced rural roads and surfaced rural roads. However, the bush path is very common but the least developed of all the routes. Bush paths link villages with farmsteads and they are usually narrow, winding and sometimes overgrown by weeds especially during the rainy season.
In a study carried by Filani (1993) in rural areas of Nigeria, it was discovered that where motorable roads exist they are mostly of unpaved surface, narrow width, circuitous alignment and with low quality bridges. In most cases, they are either clad with potholes or characterised by depressions and sagging. Such unsurfaced roads are hardly passable during the rainy season when vehicles get stuck in mud or when the improvised bridges of cut-free trunks get swept away by flood. In another study carried out by Ogunsanya (1988) on relationship between transportation, underdevelopment and rurality, he observed that the greater the degree of rurality, the lower the level of transport development.
Aderamo and Magaji (2010) noted that transportation constitutes the main avenue through which different parts of the society are linked together. Jegede (1992) cited by Ajiboye and Afolayan (2009) noted that road transport is the most common and complex network. It covers a wide range, physically convenient, highly flexible and usually the most operationally suitable and readily available means of movement of goods and passenger traffic over short, medium and long distances.
According to Ajiboye (1994), availability of transport facilities is a critical investment factor that stimulates economic growth through increased accessibility. Paul et al. (2009) pointed out that the impacts of road infrastructure on agricultural output and productivity are particularly important in Sub-Saharan Africa for three reasons. First, the agricultural sector accounts for a large share of gross domestic product (GDP) in most Sub-Saharan countries (Paul et.al 2009). Second, poverty is concentrated in rural areas. Finally, the relatively low levels of road infrastructure and long average travel time’s result in high transaction costs for sales of agricultural inputs and outputs, and this limits agricultural productivity and growth. According to Mabogunje (1971), some of the variables that determine the level of development in a given environment are easy accessibility and mobility.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Transport affects agricultural marketing because it is the only means by which farmers can transport their produce to the market. Poor transportation in the rural areas has resulted in low productivity, low income and a fall in the standard of living of rural residents and high rate of poverty (Aloba, 1986). A strong relationship between transportation, underdevelopment and rurality was identified by Ogunsanya (1988). He stressed further that the greater the degree of rurality, the lower the level of transport development. When the distance of farm to the market is far and the road is rough perishable crops may be destroyed and farmers may run at a loss. It is against this background that this study examines the impact of road transport on agricultural production in Abakiliki Local Government of Ebonyi State, Nigeria.
Ever since the beginning of time, agriculture and transportation have always co-existed inseparably. This is not only because the source of food and fibre and other economic product must be reasonably accessible and on being collected, be distributed to makers, parts and factories, but also that adequate transportation mode and efficient carrier service operations are a necessary condition for effecting an efficient physical distribution of agricultural products. Indeed, adequate and efficient transportation network is a cornerstone of the modern food marketing system. Transportation thus services as a means of moving goods, ideas and information geared towards increased productivity.
In Nigeria, roads constitute perhaps, the most important infrastructure in the structural transportation of her agriculture. In Abakaliki, most of the roads traverse a territory of sharp contrasts in climate, soil and vegetation and this hinders agricultural progress in some rural areas, most of the roads which are of course essential for the prompt evacuation of produce from the farms to the market places are often times inaccessible all year round.
Most of these roads, especially feeder roads are unsurfaced, narrow, bad, poorly drained and winding and this prevents easy access to the hinter lend where the majority of the farmers are located. Even in Abakaliki main town where such roads are in a fair condition, there is the problem caused by poor maintenance, lack of adequate executive capacity, lack of suitable materials, and management problem. The vicious combination of these factors is that costs are higher, marketing possibilities are uncertain and incentives to produce are low.
Besides, the inadequacy of road network services are inefficiently executed. Delay in transit, bad loading and offloading, and rough handling of goods characterize road transport resulting in great losses from damages, spoilage and detonation of products. Poor transportation also has the added effect of preventing farmers from specializing in the crops that offer them the best return. Where transport is inadequate, each former attempts to keep his family supplied with all their needs, and he therefore retains more food than he actually needs, and he therefore retains more food than he actually needs. This is because if he runs short, it will be difficult to tap other resources and this entails higher losts as a result of transportation this often poses a problem because urban dwellers will be faced with dearth of foodstuffs and other essential goods manufactured from agricultural materials. These problems that confront rural transportation in Nigeria, therefore, hinder it’s ability to improve the system of land use for agricultural production.
If agriculture is to respond to the growing demand, than it will be necessary to evolve a good progressive rural structure with rural roads to expedite and reduce the cost of flow of agricultural commodities, information and all sorts of rural service to enable it contribute meaningfully to general economic growth. This will help accommodate increased traffic flows in both directions, inputs moving from the urban areas to the farms and output in the opposite direction. The task involves very large additions to rural road mode and maintaining existing roads, the expansion of storage and processing facilities and a new institutional arrangement for managing and financing the total system this is of course, a no mean task indeed.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
This study will attempt to relate road transport to the economy as regards the role of a road transportation mode in marketing Agricultural product in Abakaliki L.G.A. Ebonyi State. The objectives include:
i. To determine the extent to which road transportation system has affected the marketing of Agricultural products.
ii. To identify these factors that are directly have contributed to this.
iii. To offer useful recommendations with a view to making the marketing of Agricultural products in Abakaliki L.G.A. Ebonyi State, more successful and effective.