The Impact of Rural Transportation on Agricultural Development in Boki Local Government Area, Southern Nigeria

摘要

Linking areas of production with that of consumption is an effective approach for resource management and enhance productivity. Transportation remains a catalyst for efficient utilization of environmental resources for agricultural development safeguarding food security and rural livelihood. This study therefore is tailored towards assessing the impact of rural transportation on agricultural development in Boki LGA. The study adopts a questionnaire survey method for data collection as well as key informant interview and Focus Group Discussion. The study area was segmented into two based on accessibility viz, accessible and inaccessible communities. The result reveals that in inaccessible communities, common to the people is the use of head porterage (44%) as a means of conveying their goods to the market, while in accessible areas; the common means is the use of landrover. Accessibility has therefore influenced positively the income, employment and easy access to market thereby increasing farm holdings. The paired sample test indicates that the farm holdings vary significantly in terms of farm sizes-Less than 1 hectares shows significant variation (t=5.245; p<0.05) and above 13 hectares (t=4.804; p<0.05) . The difference between low income and high income earnings in both areas is statistically significant (t=2.687; p<0.05 and t=2.856; p<0.05). This result shows that transportation is vital for rural agricultural development. Hence it is recommended that rural transportation be given utmost priority to ensure sustainable food production.