Impact Of Road Network On The Marketing Of Agricultural Produce

The aim of this study is to determine the impact of road transport network on the marketing of agricultural produce in the Igbo-Etiti local government area and Nsukka zone of Enugu state to identify other factors directly or indirectly to the marketing of agricultural produce in the zone.
The empirical aspect of this research was carried out using the survey method and questionnaire to obtain information from respondents in the 10 major towns, all drawn from Nsukka zone.the high nature of response was made possible because of the constant visit of the researcher to the respondents. Tables, percentages pie charts and chi-square distribution were used as tools for presenting and analyzing the data collected.
The result of this study indicated that the nature of road network system in Nsukka zone of Enugu State adversely affects the marketing of agricultural produce. It was found that the inaccessibility of farmer to produce.
The researcher who discovered that the prices of agricultural produce rise and fall as a result of transportation costs. Bassed on the research findings the researcher made the following recommendations.
1. That government should put effort in improving the nature of road network in the states since it was observed that inaccessibility reduces the incentives to produce.
2. In planning for agriculture in a particular area, it becomes absolutely necessary that rural feeder roads are to be constructed to link such areas.
3. Food collection centres should be established in various rural areas, since transportation cost tends to increase the price of agricultural produce.
4. The provisions of farm equipment should be made available to the farmers and adequate storage facility should be well assessed to check against wastage and spoilage.