CONSTRAINTS TO THE DISTRIBUTION OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS BY LOCAL PRODUCERS IN TARABA STATE

ABSTRACT

This study was embarked upon for the purposes of finding out constraints to the distribution of agricultural products by local producers in Taraba State, and to  identify  strategies for improving the distribution of agricultural products. In carrying out the study, five research questions were developed and five null hypotheses were formulated. Questionnaire was the only instrument used for data collection. Local producers of tea, tomatoes and dairy products in the Central Zone of Taraba State were  identified as the population for the study. Two- hundred and thirty farmers of tea,  tomatoes and dairy products drawn from the five local government areas of the Zone by means of simple randomization, made up the sample for this study. The data collected were analyzed using mean to answer research questions, standard deviation to determine the closeness or otherwise of the responses from the mean,  t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistics to test the null hypotheses. The results of the data collected and analyzed showed that: (1) That the present means of transportation of products such as bicycles, motorcycles, donkeys, etc. encourage incidence of damage/theft of products. (2)  that  poor  conditions  of  roads  during  rainy  season  limit  distribution  of  agricultural products through the season. (3) absence of warehouse/storage  facilities prevents efficient distribution  of agricultural  products.  (4) different  agricultural  products  require  different storage facilities. (5) that use of middlemen compound distribution of agricultural products by causing delay and rise in prices of products. (6)that excessive excise duties on agricultural products by government  hampers  distribution  of products. (7) that the scrapping of some agricultural organizations by the government limits distribution of products. (8) that excise- free should be granted for distribution of some agricultural products by the government. (9) government should encourage the creation of farmers’ Associations for producers of different types of products. Based on the findings of this study, a conclusion was drawn that if the constraints considered  by local farmers and strategies for improving  distribution utilized; distribution of agricultural products will greatly be efficient.  Among the recommendations that were adduced include: (1) need for infrastructural development advocacy and revival of rail   system   of  transportation.   (2)   communities   should   embark   on   communal   road- maintenance, at least twice during rainy season. (3) government should minimize the number and functions of revenue deriving agencies on distribution of some agricultural products. (4) government should construct public warehouses in every local government head-quarters so as to help store goods after harvest while waiting for distribution.

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Background of the Study

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

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Agricultural  products  encompass  all  categories  of products  related  to  agriculture. They range from raw and finished goods under the classifications of plants, animals and other life forms. Agricultural products can, therefore be referred to as  crops and animals grown under cultivated conditions whether used for personal consumption, subsistence or sold for commercial benefits (Calestous, 2011).Agricultural products come in the form of fruits and vegetables, grains or cereals, livestock, natural fibres, forest and marine products (Adirika,

2001).  Some  agricultural  products  produced  in  Taraba  state  include:  sugarcane,   rice, groundnuts,  beans,  oil  palms,  cocoa,  coffee,  cattle,  millet,  maize,  guinea  corn,  cotton, tomatoes, cowpea ,cocoyam,  sweet potatoes, tea, timber, banana,  yam,  beniseed,  coconut, cassava, citrus fruits, oranges, guavas, sheep, goats, pigs, apples,  and  grapes (Taraba State Ministry  of  Information,   Culture   and  Tourism,   2012).Being  agrarian   in  nature,   the predominant  population  of Taraba  state  is  engaged  in  farming  as an occupation.  About seventy-five percent (75%) of the  population of the people are farmers or local producers while an estimated twenty-five percent (25%) is engaged in other economic activities. John (2002) stated that local producers are unsophisticated farmers in rural communities who are engaged in agricultural production which include raising of livestock, cultivation of crops and vegetables  to  eat  and  to  sell  at  a  local  markets.  Local  producers  therefore,  are  farmers (comprising of both male and female farmers) who own, work on or operate an agricultural enterprise either for commercial purpose or self-sustenance. Farmers in Taraba State usually move their products to local markets in small quantities  by  carrying them either on their heads or backs. A few others use either donkeys or bicycles to convey their goods to market places, due to the fact that vehicles do not  reach their locations or farm centers. Equally, farmers make use of short channel structure, which is selling goods directly to the consumers without involving wholesalers and agents in the distribution process. The use of short channel of  distribution  is  often  done  because  farmers  will  want  to  dispose  of  their  products immediately after harvest even when the prices are low, for fear that the products, especially perishable  ones, might get spoilt soon as they cannot be stored because of lack of storage facilities, hence restricting the distribution of their products.

The words “distribution” and “place” are synonymous in marketing, and is one of the components of marketing mix. In the view of Kotler, Keller& Burton (2009), distribution is the handling, movement, and storage of goods from the points of origin or production to the

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point of consumption, via various channels. It is a marketing function aimed at getting goods and  services  from  the  producer  to  the  ultimate  consumer,  transferring  ownership  and physically  moving  the  goods  to  place  of  need.  Distribution  is  an  important  marketing function, not only in the post-production marketing situation, but also in the pre-production situation by bringing about time and place utilities; aiding demand creation and satisfaction. The physical distribution of goods from producer to  users requires the integration of sub- systems such as fixed infrastructural facilities, warehousing, inventory, and logistics supports. A good distribution system brings a reduction in handling cost, a reduction in the incidence of product damage especially  through physical spoilage  and deterioration,  a reduction in the incidence of loss through theft, and leads to considerable savings in transport cost. Through distribution,  products  are made  available  throughout  the market  place;  such that  a large number of people can buy them (Braton, 1998). Distribution involves a good transport system to take the goods into different geographical areas; a good tracking system so that the right goods reach at the right time and in the right quantity; a good packing, which takes the wear and tear of transport, tracking the places where the goods can be placed such that there is a maximum opportunity for sales; and a good distribution channel.

Channels  of distribution  (also known as trade channels),  as defined  by  Nicholson

(2007),  are  the  paths  or  route  along  which  goods  or  products  move  from  producer  or manufacturer to ultimate consumers or industrial users. In other words, they are distribution networks through which farmers or local producers put their products in the market and pass them to the actual users. Channels of distribution normally serve as a bridge or link between the gap in time and space where goods are produced to the  period of consumption of the products.  Henderson  (2008)  suggested  that  Channels  of  distribution  make  it possible  for products to be moved from the producer to the ultimate consumer. The author further stated that there are usually five channel alternatives for marketing of goods, namely: producer to consumer, producer to retailer to consumer, producer to wholesaler to retailer or consumer, producer to agent/broker to wholesaler to retailer to consumer and producer to agent/broker to retailer to consumer. Adirika, Ebue and Nnolim (2001) stated that where middlemen are not available for one reason or the other, direct selling and therefore, short channel structure is  forced  on the  producer.  The  unavailability  of  middlemen  may  arise  as  a result  of  a prohibitive cost of using them or as a result of their inability to offer the services required by the producer or unacceptability of the producer’s channel policy and terms or by government action.

According  to  Ross  (2004)  there  are  basically  two  types  of  channel  used  for  the distribution of goods; marketing channel for industrial good as well as that for  consumer goods. Both types of channels   directly and indirectly make goods available  to end-users. While  all  goods  and  services  pass  through  the  marketing  channels  of  distribution,  the perishability of farm produce sometimes compel farmers to make use of direct distribution channels. Also, since majority of farmers reside in rural areas and  are separated from their customers they on the other side make use of the indirect  marketing  channels. There are special characteristics of most farm produce that require unique commercial distribution such as seasonality, bulkiness, perishability and scattered production among others. Therefore, the agricultural  produce  distribution  channel  could  take  any of  the  following  forms:  Direct channel: From the producers (farmers) to the consumers, and no intermediaries at all. This is common  with  fruits  and  vegetables,  and  fresh  livestock  products       which  are  highly perishable.   Short   channel:   The   products   are  moved   from  the  producer   through   an intermediary before getting to the consumer. This is favoured by products like Yam, Cassava, and   Potato which have long shelve life.  Long channel: Many intermediaries are involved in the movement of the commodities. This type of channel is common with products that can be stored for longer period     such as grains, yam flour, maize flour, hide and skin, cotton and live animals.   Coyle (2003) explained that channels of distribution serve to bridge the gap between the point of production and the point of consumption; thereby creating time, place and  possession utilities. It involves the management of such elements as order processing, finished  goods management,  material  handling and packaging,  transportation,  storage  and warehousing.

Warehousing is the use of scientific storage structures, especially constructed for the

protection of the quantity and quality of stored products (Kent& Jonathan, 2000). It helps in stabilizing price of agricultural products by checking the tendency of making post-harvest sales among farmers. Moses (2000) stated that warehousing is helpful in storing goods after the demand is less than the supply, thereby regulating supply of goods and also stabilizing prices. It enables businessmen and producers to curtail various risks like loss, fire, theft, and damage of goods. Storage is another important marketing function, which involves holding and preserving goods from the time they are produced until they are needed for consumption. Storage  of  goods  from  the  time  of  production  to  the  time  of  consumption  ensures  a continuous flow of goods in the market, protects the quality of perishable and semi-perishable products   from  deterioration,   and  helps   in  coping   with  products   that  have  seasonal demand(Paul&Kelvin,2010).In   order  to  achieve  cost-effective  marketing,  minimize  post-

harvest losses and to reduce health risks that may occur at all stages between the farm level and the final level of consumption, storage facilities and infrastructures are very essential.

Infrastructural facilities play a significant role in Africa’s economic development, and will need to play an even greater role if the continent’s development targets are to be reached (World  Bank,  2006).  The  World  Bank  further  stated  that  in  most  African  countries, particularly the developing countries, infrastructure is a major constraint to doing business, and is found to depress productivity by around forty percent. Infrastructural deficit is to be found in the power and transport sectors. The infrastructural deficit in power sector could be measured  in terms of shortage of  generation  capacity,  electricity consumption,  or lack of security of supply of power in those countries. In the transport sector, Africa’s road density is sparse when viewed against the vastness of the continent, and as a result, only one-third of Africans living in rural areas are within two kilometers of an all-season road, compared with two-thirds of the population in other developing regions. According to Teruel and Kuroda (2005)  the basic agricultural  infrastructure  (electricity,  telecommunications,  irrigation  and transportation)  directly impacts on productivity by providing farmers and rural  households with feasible options for production, processing, marketing and distribution. Transportation is one of the factors of production in an economic process (David & Jaclyn, 2013). Readily available, low-cost transportation makes it possible to bring raw  materials from the mines, fields,  and  forests  to  the  factory  to  be  transformed   into   desired  products.  Likewise, dependable transportation makes it possible for the  factories to supply finished products to their customers  where and when they are  needed  and in the form and quantities  desired. Without  an efficient,  well-managed  transport  system,  the  growth  and development  of an economy and/ or region is adversely affected.

The  authors  further  noted  that  because  of  special  characteristics  of  agricultural products  such  as  perishability,   seasonality,  bulkiness;  it  is  uniquely  dependent  on  a dependable  and  flexible  transportation  system,  and  that  a  dependable  transport  system enables farmers to sell surpluses at affordable cost to the market place and fulfills three of the “rights” of supply which are: getting the goods to the market at the right time, in the right condition, and in a cost- effective manner. Goods will arrive as scheduled, at the right price, in maximized loads with no breakages or pilferage. A good transport system complements an efficient  distribution  system,  which  may  be  from  points  of  production,  storage  or  pre- positioning to points of use, or from hubs to end- use, or from distribution points to end-use, or return from  end-use back to hub and pre-positioning  points or producers; on the other hand, a bad transport system constitutes a distribution constraint.

Constraint, as described by Collins (2003),is anything that limits or controls what a person wants to do. It is an element,  a factor, or sub-system  that works as a  bottleneck. Constraint restricts an entity, project, or system (such as manufacturing or decision making process) from achieving its goal. Constraint to the distribution process refers to something that imposes a limit or restriction or that prevents the movement of goods to other places of need from occurring or occurring smoothly. These constraints may vary among products and also among local producers from one State or location  to  another, which is applicable  to agricultural producers in Taraba State that are faced  with distribution constraints for their products; which are in the forms of poor road networks for transportations, absence or poor electricity supply, absence or inadequate warehousing and storage facilities, inadequate farm inputs  and  high  cost of distribution  occasioned  by unfavourable  government  policies  on agriculture.

Agricultural Policies are the instruments of action that governments employ to effect a change within the agricultural sector. Handcock (2012) stated that government’s agricultural policy is a set of decisions and actions relating to domestic agriculture and imports of foreign agricultural products. Governments usually implement agricultural policies with the goal of achieving a specific outcome in the domestic agricultural markets; some of which includes risk management and adjustment (including policies related to climate change, food safety and  natural  disasters),  economic  stability  (including  policies  related  to  taxes),  natural resources,  and  environmental  sustainability  (especially  water  supply  policy),research  and development; and market  access for domestic commodities (including relations with global organizations and  agreements with other countries).  Hancock further explained that Policy programmes can range from financial programmes, in the forms of taxation, subsidies, tariffs and other measures, sometimes   meant to encourage producers to enroll in voluntary quality assurance programmes.   Government  policy, as described by Richard (2002), may have a direct or indirect effect on the prevalent agricultural system through increasing productivity and ensuring regular  food supply in the country,  improving  farmers’  standards  of living, stabilizing  market  prices  at  a  level  beneficial  to  farmers  and  reasonable  for  consumers through the instrument  of price support policies.  Some of  these policies have bearing on distribution of agricultural products.

Statement of the Problem

With the advent of new farming technologies such as machinery and farm inputs, self- sufficiency is almost being achieved in agriculture (John, Oral, Parr & Richard, 2010). What

is now needed is the efficient distribution and marketing of the products to the places that require them for consumption and other uses.

Greater thrust is laid on the problems of marketing. If the marketing facilities are developed; it gives signals to increase production and thereby ensures the availability  of agricultural goods and services  both locally and internationally.  To distribute the  surplus agricultural products, the marketing facilities have to be strengthened through provision and upgrading, right from the center of production to place of market.

Despite the agrarian nature of Taraba state, with about seventy-five percent (75%)  of the  population  engaged  in  farming  various  forms  of  agricultural  products  such  as  rice, groundnuts, beans, cocoa, coffee, cattle, millet, cotton, tea, timber, bananas, yams, cassava, tomatoes,  maize,  sheep  and  goats,  among  others,  (Taraba  state  Ministry of  Information, Culture, & Tourism, 2012), the distribution systems have been observed to be very inefficient and ineffective; products are damaged either in the field or on transit,  high cost of goods, delay in goods reaching places of use or markets, or some goods not spread at all throughout the state and even beyond.  The absence  of good  infrastructure  causes  significant  loss of earnings on the local producers and deprives them of capital for reinvestment and acquisition of machines for project expansion. Infrastructural deficiencies create high scarcity and cost of agricultural products borne by end-users in needed places of the state.

Constraints  arising  from warehousing  lead  to inability of local producers  to  store goods in order to meet demand during off-production seasons (Ashok & Balasubramanian,

2006).  Lack  of  warehousing  and  storage  facilities  compel  local  producers  to  sell  their products at   give –away price during harvesting period and even when demand is low as a way of avoiding waste or spoilage, especially perishable goods; this causes decline in their income and standards of living; hence the need for this study, constraints to distribution of agricultural  products by local producers  in Taraba State  and to identify the strategies  for improving the distribution of agricultural products.

Purpose of the Study

The major purpose of this study was to ascertain the constraints to the distribution of agricultural products by local producers in Taraba State. Specifically, the study sought to:

1)  determine  the infrastructural  constraints (land  transportation)  to the distribution  of agricultural products by producers.

2)  determine the warehousing constraints to the distribution of agricultural products by producers.

3)  determine the channel of distribution constraints to   the distribution of  agricultural products.

4)  determine  the  constraints  posed  by  government  policies  on  the  distribution  of agricultural products.

5)  Identify the strategies for improving the distribution of agricultural products in Taraba

State.

Significance of the Study

The findings of this study will be of immense benefit to local producers of agricultural products, consumers/industrialists, government agencies, and researchers.

Agricultural producers who constitute the bulk of the population of Taraba state and by extension, the country, will benefit from the results of this study. The results of this study will  make  the  general  public  aware  of  the  constraints  to  distribution  faced  by farmers. Through this study, farmers will understand the effects of channels of distribution and need for adopting good channels of distribution of different types of products produced. This study will still be of great benefit to agricultural producers as  the findings on the constraints  if solved, will help reduce costs of production and distribution incurred by them, thus raising their propensity to save and standards of living. All these shall be made known to the local producers through organization  of  workshops and seminars by the researcher  for them to

learn.

Equally, consumers/industrialists  who are the ultimate users of agricultural products will have value in this study as it will expose them to the various challenges producers face in getting products available to them, and the reasons responsible for high prices of the goods they  pay.  This  study  will  also  enable  consumers  and  industrialists  understand  the  link between government policies on agriculture and distribution of quantitative and qualitative goods they consume, thereby channeling  complaints to Consumers  Protection Council for redress, thus enabling them buy better goods in the desired quantity and at affordable prices.

Government  agencies (especially,  Federal and States ministries of agriculture)  will also find the findings of this study significant because it will uncover the different constraints farmers encounter in the distribution of the products, which is the last stage of the production process, which may include the effects of the policies made on agriculture. This will then enable the government  to formulate  favourable  policies  on  agriculture  in order to ensure availability of agricultural products all over the country.

Finally,  future researchers  will find this study useful and as a premise for  further studies either through replication or as a source of literature to future studies. The findings of this  study when published,  will be displayed  in  public  libraries  for all  people  including government officials to read and extract relevant information, for decision making

Research Questions

The following four research questions were developed to guide this study:

1)  What are the infrastructural constraints to the distribution of agricultural products?

2)  What are the warehousing constraints experienced by agricultural producers in the distribution of products?

3)  What are the channels of distribution constraints to the distribution of agricultural products?

4)  What are the government’s policies constraints to the distribution of agriculture products?

5)  What are the strategies for improving the distribution of agricultural products?

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses formulated to guide the study will be tested at 0.05 level of significance.

Ho1:      There  is  no  significant  difference  in  the  mean  responses  of  male  and  female agricultural   producers   on  the  infrastructural   constraints   to  the   distribution   of agricultural products in Taraba State.

Ho2:  There is no significant difference in the mean responses of agricultural producers of tea and tomatoes on the warehousing constraints to the distribution of products in Taraba State.

Ho3: There is no significant difference in the mean responses of producers of tea, tomatoes and dairy products on the channels of distribution constraints to the  distribution of agricultural products in Taraba State.

Ho4:  There is no significant  difference  in the mean responses  of producers of dairy  and tomatoes products on the warehousing  constrains to the distribution of  agricultural products in Taraba State.

Ho5:   There is no significant difference  in the mean responses of producers of dairy  and tomatoes  products  on the  government’s  policies  constraints  to  the  distribution  of agricultural products.

Scope of the Study

This study was delimited to constraints to the distribution of agricultural products by local producers in Taraba state. The agricultural products covered in this study are tomatoes, dairy and tea products. The study was focused on local producers of the agricultural products in the Central Senatorial zone of the State, which is composed of five Local Government Areas, namely: Bali, Sardauna, Gassol, Kurmi and Gashaka.

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