The Role of Road Transportation Mode in the Marketing of Agricultural Products.
(a Case Study of Abakaliki L.g.a. Ebonyi State)
Chapter One
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:
- To determine the extent to which road transportation system has affected the marketing of Agricultural products.
- To identify these factors that are directly have contributed to this.
- 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.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Agriculture which has earlier been defined as the art, Science and business of farming also encompasses all activities directed towards food production, including fishing and forestry. Agriculture in Nigeria, and Abakaliki L.G.A. in particular is strictly subsistence where each farmer produces just enough from him and his family consumption. In subsistence farming, simple tools, and methods of production are used to satisfy the personal needs with a little or no proportion sold for cash. At the other extreme are more complex commercial firms involved in intensive systems of production mechanization and specialization with a very large proportion or all the produce sold for cash.
However, the importance of agriculture in the Nigerian economy cannot be fully appreciated without reference to some basic functions which it performs, for instance, it provides foods and fibre for the rapidly expending population with it’s growing income and wealth, and constitute a major soruce of foreign exchange and contributes significantly to the Gross National Product (GNP) of the country. Agriculture not only provides food for the domestic economy, but also exportable raw materials from where foreign exchange earnings can be realized.
Generally, the contribution of agriculture to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the 1977 so fiscal year was about 22.5% at current factor cost. Realizing this, the federal government in many different ways has made efforts to ensure the availability of enough food for the growing population. This the government has demonstrated in different development plans and programmes for instance in the third (1975:80) and fourth (1981-85) National Development Plans, the sum of N2.2billion (or 6.9%), and N12.46 billion (or 15.2%) respectively were allocated to agriculture. The various past government have also paid much attention to agriculture through the launching of different programmes such as the operation feed the Nation (O.F.N) the Green Revolution, and the school to land programme, and lately, the directorate for foods, roads and Rural infrastructure.
To achieve the objectives of the various programmes, it was observe red that this is feasible through the provision of such basic infrastructures as feeder roads, housing, education etc. in the rural areas where the majority of the farmers live. In Ebonyi State and Abakaliki L.G.A. these very basic infrastructure are poorly provided if any, and this causes distribution bottle Medes which in turn increase the rate of price inflation.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
RESEARCH DESIGN:
Data used in this study were obtained from both primary and secondary sources. Data obtained from the secondary sources were used mostly in chapter two where related literature was reviewed.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Primary data were collected mainly from the questionnaires administered to the respondents. Oral interviews were also applied during the distribution and collection stages of the questionnaires.
SECONDARY SOURCES
Secondary data on the other hand were collection by the use of textbooks, magazines, newspapers, marketing and business journals as well as from papers presented by renowned scholars in different fields of business studies. Different libraries and rainisteries were also visited.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA.
The analysis and interpretation of the raw and available data of an investigation are the means by which the research problem are answered and the stated hypothesis tested. The purpose of this chapter therefore is to present, analyse and break down the available data into constituent parts.
TABLE 4.1
DISTRIBUTION AND COLLECTION OF QUESTIONNAIRES
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION
The purpose of this chapter is to present a summary of the findings based on the stated and tested hypotheses, and to highlight other findings of the study in order to enable meaningful conclusions to be drawn.
Finally useful recommendation are then made based on the findings.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
A brief summary of the results of the study as seen from the acceptance or rejection of the earlier stated hypothesis is made here.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Idachaba F.S. (1985) Rural Infrastructure in Nigeria, Federal department of Rural Development. LONDON: Macmillan Press Limited.
- Kotler, P. (1995) Marketing of Agricultural product planning and control. 4th edition.
- Nwokoye G.N. (1981) Modern Marketing for Nigeria, London: Macmillan.
- Okereke, C.O. (1984) Road transport system and it’s impact on the marketing of Agricultural Products in Anambra State. Unpublished thesis, Department of Marketing University of Nigeria Enugu Campus.
- Onyebuchi J.T. (1988) Marketing of Palm Product in Anambra State: An Evaluation of the pricing Distribution, processing and storage facilities unpublished thesis, Department of marketing, university of Nigeria Enugu Campus.
- Owen, W. (1966) Transport and food in transport and National Goals (ed) Washington; Brookings institution.
