The Effect of Road Transport Network on Agricultural Produce Marketing in Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State

The study focused on the effects of road transport network on agricultural produce marketing in Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna state. It took a critical look at the development of road network connectivity and the development of markets with a view to understand the level to which this network components affected agricultural produce marketing over a period of four decades (1965 – 2007). The result showed that internal and external trade in Giwa is characterized by relatively well developed economic networks epitomized in its market places and other retail institutions. In a predominately rural economy like of Giwa, market institutions are important nodes of exchange of goods/services and agricultural produce. Most of the periodic markets are located on roads sides or nucleated settlements with a road link. It also showed that the development of markets depended on development of road network. It further showed that the scheduling of periodic market is integrated with their locational spacing with a closed relationship between market provision, road network and population density. New reasons are advanced in an attempt to explain periodic marketing in terms of temporal variations in effective demand. Hypotheses are derived to test its validity. The empirical results showed that development of market depends on road network which synchronized the needs and objectives of the rural produce/services and substantial improvements in the system can be emphasized.