ABSTRACT

 This research work is on the effect of road transportation system on distribution of agricultural products in Ohaji Egbema Local Government Area of Imo state as a whole. The objectives of this study are to determine the extent to which road transportation system affect the distribution of agricultural products in Imo state. To identify the factors that affect road transportation system of agricultural products in Imo state. The primary data were collected from the responses to the questionnaire which was personally administered to 60 distributors, transporters and 70 farmers in communities in Ohaji Egbema Local Government Area of Imo state; and also the secondary data were collected from Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Imo State University Owerri and Federal University of Technology Owerri libraries. Using simple percentages, the data were analyzed and used to answer three research questions raised, while chi-square (X2) test statistics was used to test the two hypotheses formulated for the study. The findings revealed among others that, the poor nature of road network system in Imo state affects the distribution of agricultural products. The nature of roads (caused by poor state of the roads reduce the farmers incentives to produce. That cost of transportation caused by the poor state of the road causes high and fluctuating prices of agricultural products. Based on the above findings, the following recommendations were made; that government should put the roads in a working condition for both heavy and light duty vehicles to use. To subsidize cost of transportation of agricultural products by providing vehicles that could cost less, that until what is produced gets to the ultimate consumer nothing is said to be produced, that efficient and reliable road transportation system is desirable and indispensable in effective distribution of agricultural products in Imo state. Road transformation becomes cheap when the roads are in good condition for easy movements