Towards Efficient Transport Connectivity for Sustainable Market Patronage in Nigeria
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International Journal of Developing Societies Vol. 1, No. 2, 2012, 88-96 Towards Efficient Transport Connectivity for Sustainable Market Patronage in Nigeria Omole F.K, Owoeye J.O* and Ogundiran A.O Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria Market centre and transportation system are inseparable land-uses. The success or failure of one makes or mar the other. This paper aims at examining how the transport situation in Osun State has affected the market patronage of farm products in the State. The use of sample technique, observation method and road inventory survey were employed. Out of the 253 registered market centres in the state, 60 of them were selected for survey. This represents 23.7%. The selection was done by picking two market centres from the existing 30 local government areas in the state; one from the local government headquarters and the other ones randomly selected by ballot from the remaining market centres in the local governments. Major findings reveal the existence of large range of goods and services in the existing 253 registered market centres which are in their hierarchy of specialization. Other findings include poor road net-work and bad condition of roads which compelled market patrons to use motorcycle as their major mode of transport.. A large numbers of market centres and even towns were found ‘unconnected’ by Direct Motor-able Routes (DMR). Recommendation include imploring government to open-up more roads, supplying more commercial buses, introduction of empowering programmed and lastly adoption of public–private-participation in road construction and management. Keywords: inter-settlement, transport connectivity, accessibility, market patronage, range of goods, sustainability Introduction Ojetola, 1993; Oyekunle, 1995; Ademiluyi & Solanke 2002; Omole & Owoeye, 2007). These researchers Good accessibility to rural areas is of paramount identify the inadequacy of rural development. Despite importance to the developing countries like Nigeria this strong observations and benefit potentials of rural where rural population constitutes about 65.0% of the areas; planning for efficient rural transport country’s inhabitants. Adequate and efficient rural development had received little or inadequate federal road network serves as one of the channels for government attention in Nigeria. However, it is the the collection and exchange of goods and services, realization of the need to harness rural resource movement of people and dissemination of information. potentials, particularly the farm products for the Therefore, rural roads help in enhancing rural benefit of generalities of the country through productivity as well as strengthening the socio- adequate and efficient transport means that form the economic, cultural and political fabrics and processes bedrock of this study. Nigeria, being an agrarian of the rural communities. nation with a large majority residing in rural areas, In other words, rural roads provision, according to they specialize in primary production such as Ademiluyi and Solanke (2002) forms an intrinsic part farming, fishing, lumbering, etc. Coincidentally, of rural development strategies which serves as a majority of the goods to be transported are mechanism and catalyst for rural transformation agricultural products which by nature are bulky, low through the reinforcement of rural development. The priced, highly perishable which must be conveyed importance of transport facilities in rural areas is from their area of production to their zone of justified from both social and economic perspectives. consumption with minimum delay and cost. But the Apart from the fact that it promotes the socio- constraint in the regular evacuation of these goods political interactions among the teeming population from their area of production has been a great of over 60.0% inhabitants of the country that resides concern. For example, Mbagwu (1977) in his study of in the rural areas. A good number of studies on rural rural-urban flow of agricultural food products in development in Nigeria have agreed on the need to Owerri observed some transportation constraints improve transport facilities in the country’s rural areas among which include (i) dominant use of the relatively (Ogundana, 1972; Idachaba et al, 1981; Ogunsanya & inefficient means of transportation in preference to the more efficient mode (ii) non-availability of the efficient media at certain location, and (iii) poor * Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] condition of the roads and their seasonal deterioration ISSN 2168-1783 Print/ ISSN 2168-1791Online © 2012 World Scholars 89 F. K. Omole et al. during rainy season. This situation seems to be The Study Area: An Overview relevant to most of our rural communities in Nigeria. Agricultural products are dispersedly located and the Osun State was one of the nine states created on task of effectively linking several producing areas with August 27th, 1991 through the sixth anniversary the consumption centres depends on good roads and broadcast of the former President Ibrahim Babangida. availability of efficient transport facilities (Adefolalu, Before this time, the State was part of the old Oyo 1980; Kohles & Uhi, 1985). The motivation for this State. The state capital is Osogbo, which is a local study is stirred-up by enormous wastages of these farm government area on its own. In all, a total of thirty products in their respective areas of production due to local government council areas constitute the state. lack of accessibility. This reduces the farmers’ Among the major towns in the state are Ilesha, Ife, income, aggravates their poverty level and increases Ede and Ejigbo, all having big urban market centres prices of food items in urban centers. Hence, this (See Figures 1 & 2). paper provides possible solutions to address these problems. Figure 1. Map of Nigeria showing Osun state in the national setting. Source: Osun State Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning, Osogbo (2010). International Journal of Developing Societies 90 Figure 2. Map of Osun State showing the selected Local Govt. Areas for the study. Source: Osun State Ministry of Land and Physical Planning, Osogbo; (2010). The state has a total land area of 8620 square in Osun State, Nigeria. Deductions were from thirty kilometers and shares boundary with Kwara state in local government areas of the State. Precisely, out of the North, Oyo in the west, Ogun and Ondo in the the 253 market centres identified in the state, sixty of South and Ekiti State in the East. The National them, representing 23.7% were surveyed with the aid Population Commission (NPC) Figure of 2006 put of questionnaire survey responded to by market the state population at 3,428,535. The state shoppers and sellers. A market each from the local experiences a tropical climate while the local government headquarters and one other from the vegetation is the lowland rainforest type that favours rural areas in the same local government area were agricultural products, which are in abundance in both selected for survey. This gives a total of two market the rural and urban market centres in the state. A centres from each of the thirty local council areas in large number of the state urban roads are motor-able the state, totaling sixty markets in all. This represents to some extent while majority of the rural roads are in 23.7%. The selection was done by picking two a deplorable condition. Majority of these roads links market centres from the existing 30 local government the rural market centres where agricultural products areas in the state; one from the local government are gathered for onward transfer to the urban market headquarters and the other ones randomly selected by centres. ballot from the remaining market centres in the local governments. Figure 1shows the Map of the study area and the Methodology selected market areas. Inventory survey on the condition of roads was also carried out. Data The method of research here is both descriptive and collected lasted for about four months and these were analytical in nature. The study relies heavily on field subjected to analyses. Models, involving connectivity survey and documentary analysis. The presentation is index and distance matrix models were developed to basically an extract from a wider research carried out explain the inter- and intra-towns linkages. 91 F. K. Omole et al. The major limitations of the study which were of In this manner, a consumer from Boripe LGA can go course summated were the poor condition of roads to Ifelodun LGA, which is about 3km away from which reduced the fast movement of vehicles during them or to Oshogbo LGA, which is about 21km away survey and the wideness of the study area. These or to Ilesha LGA of about 33.5km, Ede LGA 34.5km prolonged the survey period of the research work. or Ife central which is about 47km away to them. By their locations, all the mentioned LGAs provide high order goods and services than what is available in Discussion of Findings Boripe Local Government area. The same explanations go for the other LGAs as illustrated in Findings from the study are discussed under Appendix 1. Using this same principle, the total subheadings which include location, range of goods number of kilometers to be covered (all over the and services, the nature and condition of the existing state) by prospective traders or shoppers is computed road transport and facilities, the mode of transport with their intervening market opportunities (See used and market linkages. Appendix 2). Location and range of goods and services Location and movement The range of goods and services according to Omole Findings reveal that majority of the market centres in (2005) is the average maximum distance that the state were ‘ordered’ to be built and located on prospective consumers are willing to cover in order their present cites by the traditional rulers. Table 1 to consume a good or service.