RURAL ROAD TRANSPORTATIONAND MARKETING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE IN AKURE SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, ONDO STATE

Abstract

Over the years, food production has become one of the priorities of every nation. The problem of food scarcity appears to be more severe all year round especially in developing and under developed countries as transportation of harvested food and cash crops become very difficult to convey to the market and factory. In Nigeria, marketing of agricultural produce is highly dependent on road transportation distribution. The objective of this study is to assess the impact of road transportation on the Ondo state economy with specific regards to the marketing of agricultural produce in Akure South Local Government Area, Ondo state. This study used descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze data collected from the field. Frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, relative importance index (RII), and severity index (SI) were used for the descriptive data, while Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Chi square were used for inferential analyses to achieve the stated research objectives and test the hypotheses. The study found that road transportation had effect on the mode, means and frequency of selling agricultural produce in Akure- South LGA. In addition, the study also established that there is relationship between means of transportation and selling prices of agricultural produce, i.e. an improvement in the means of transportation will lead to a decrease in the selling prices of agricultural produce. The study recommended that provision of better transportation facilities will ensure higher farm-gate prices; encourage the farmers to increase their production and reduce spoilage and wastage of farm produce in Ondo state, Nigeria. It further recommended that conscious efforts on the part of governments at all levels in the country, to allocate adequate funds for the improvement of roads in the country and provision of adequate security, in order to reduce the effect of theft as a marketing problem.