Dissertation Project

On

“Role of Transport in Agricultural Development of

Bihar”

Submitted in the partial fulfillment of the requirement

for two year (F/T)
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA)
Programme (2018-20) of Gopal Narayan Singh University

Under the Guidance of submitted by

Mr. Rajeev Ranjan Ganga Kumar
Assistant Professor Roll No-18MBA064

FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

NARAYAN ACADEMY OF MANAGERIAL EXCELLENCE,
GOPAL NARAYAN SINGH UNIVERSITY,
ROHTAS
JULY 2020
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this MBA thesis entitled “Role of Transport in

Agricultural Development of Bihar” was carried out by me for the degree of
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (AGRIBUSINESS) under
the guidance and supervision of Mr. Rajeev Ranjan(Asst. Professor),
FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, GNSU, JAMUHAR
(SASARAM).

The interpretations put forth are based on my reading and

understanding of the original texts and they are not published anywhere in the
form of books, monographs or articles. The other books, articles and websites,
which I have made use of are acknowledged at the respective place in the text.

For the present thesis, which I am submitting to the University, no

degree or diploma or distinction has been conferred on me before, either in
this or in any other University.

Place: Jamuhar GANGA KUMAR

Date: March 2020 ROLL NO-18MBA064
 ACKNOWLEDMENTS

I wish to sincerely thank all those who have contributed in one way or
another to this study. Words can only inadequately express my deep gratitude
to my guide, Mr. Rajeev Ranjan (Asst. Professor), for her meticulous care,
kindness and generosity. Her fruitful comments and insightful suggestions
have been a crucial formative influence on the present study. He has
supported me in every possible way since the beginning of my research. His
critical and careful reading of my writing has saved me from a lot of errors.
Without his guidance and encouragement, my research would have never
come out in the present form. I have seen in his an unpretentious and devoted
scholar. Furthermore, it has been a memorable and enjoyable experience for
me to work with him..
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Alok Kumar, the Dean of
the college, for his incessant inspiration, expert guidance, invaluable
suggestions, and, above all, his moral support.
Finally, I sincerely acknowledge the courtesy of the authorities of
libraries: GNS University’s for their cooperation needed by permitting me
access data and relevant materials while carrying out the present research

GANGA KUMAR
Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................................2
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY........................................................................................................................4
REVIEW OF LITERATURE.............................................................................................................................5
METHODOLOGY.............................................................................................................................................17
DATA INTERPRETATION.............................................................................................................................18
FINDINGS..........................................................................................................................................................24
CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................................25
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................................26
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Road transport plays an important role in agricultural development. This is
because it is the major means of transporting agricultural produce from the
farms to the markets as well as to various urban communities. This study
examines the impact of road transport on agricultural development in Dehri On
Sone of Bihar State. It employs the use of both primary and secondary data.
One hundred and fifty copies of questionnaire were distributed systematically to
the farmers in the study area. Focus group discussion was also used to obtain
information on the impact of road transport on rural development as a whole.
Descriptive and analytical statistical methods were both employed to analyze the
data gathered. The findings showed that road transport has both positive and
negative impact on agricultural development in the study area. However, the bad
conditions of the road affect cost of transportation of agricultural produce which
in turn affect the rural farmers’ income. This study concludes by suggesting that
an improvement in road transport system will lead to increased production by
farmers. Community participation in road transport development should also be
encouraged in the study area.

1
 INTRODUCTION
Transport is regarded as a key factor in improving agricultural development all over
the world. It is the only means by which food produced at farm site is moved to
different homes as well as markets. Transport creates market for agricultural produce,
enhances interaction among geographical and economic regions and opens up new
areas to economic focus and agriculture is the most fundamental human activities
including not only the cultivation of crops, but also the domestication of annual.
According to Johnson, V.A. (1999), “ all the occupation by which gain is secured none
is better than agriculture, none more profitable, none more delightful, none more
becoming to a free man” Agriculture has always played a leading role in people’s lives
all over the world especially, in India about 65% of the total population engaged in
agriculture. However, Ogunsanya (1981) observed that there are three types of routes
in the rural areas viz; bush paths, unsurfaced rural roads and surfaced rural roads.
However, the bush path is very common but the least developed of all the routes. Bush
paths link villages with farmsteads and they are usually narrow, winding and
sometimes overgrown by weeds especially during the rainy season. In a study carried
by Filani (1993) in rural areas of Nigeria, it was discovered that where motorable
roads exist they are mostly of unpaved surface, narrow width, circuitous alignment and
with low quality bridges. In most cases, they are either clad with potholes or
characterised by depressions and sagging. Such unsurfaced roads are hardly passable
during the monsoon season when vehicles get stuck in mud or when the improvised
bridges of cut-free trunks get swept away by flood. In another study carried out by
Ogunsanya (1988) on relationship between transportation, underdevelopment and
rurality, he observed that the greater the degree of rurality, the lower the level of
transport development. Aderamo and Magaji (2010) noted that transportation
constitutes the main path through which different parts of the society are linked
together. Jegede (1992) cited by Ajiboye and Afolayan (2009) noted that road
transport is the most common and complex network. It covers a wide range, physically
convenient, highly flexible and usually the most operationally suitable and readily
available means of movement of goods and passenger traffic over short, medium and
long distances. An efficient transport system offering cost, time and reliability
advantage permits goods to be transported quickly (Rodrigue, 2006; Tunde & Adeniyi,
2012).
According to Ade (2004) “Transportation is the means by which goods and people are
carried from one place to another”. With transportation, raw materials are brought to
the factory for processing, while the finished goods are delivered to the wholesalers,
retailers and the final consumers. Imagine how distribution of agricultural products
and business activities would look like without transportation system, which enables

2
long distance to be reached in a short time. Distribution of agricultural products
between town, state and nations is made easy and smooth because of transportation
system. Ade’s view is that the importance of transportation in distribution of
agricultural products, business activities and other activities that affect human beings
cannot be over emphasized.
Ajayi (2003) defines transportation as “the movement of people, goods and animals
from one place to another”. Ajayi is of the view that goods and services are moved
from production area to places of consumption. Similarly, Eyiyere (2005) views
transportation as “a means by which people and goods are carried from one place to
another.” The earliest means of transportation was foot. People trekked from one place
to another carrying their loads either on their heads or their shoulders. Animals were
also used as a means of transportation. Such animals as ass, camel, etc. were used as
means of transportation. However, great technological advancement has been made
overtime in all forms of transportation. These advancements have enabled all types of
goods as well as people to move from one place to another.
Ezeagu (2006) in his own opinion sees transportation as “a means of moving goods
and human beings from place to place. It is an auxiliary of trade and commerce, a
means of brining about the mobility of most factors of production by land, air and
sea.” Transportation has grown in importance and the rate of its importance has led to
effective distribution of agriculture products and a very tremendous improvement in
all means of transportation in past years.
Ahukannah, Ndnachi and Arukwe (1995) define transportation as an activity that
involves the movement of goods from the manufacturer to the consumer. It is
inconceivable what the state of affairs would be without transportation. Farmers could
not be able to market their products; stores would be closed down because they would
not be able to obtain merchandise to sell, and factories would close down because they
would not be able to get raw material or distribute finished products. Thus, we see that
transportation is essential to the development and expansion of commerce.
According to Kotler (1997) physical distribution is the task involved in planning,
implementing and controlling the physical flow of materials, finished goods and
related information from point of origin to point of consumption to meet customer
requirement at a profit. This definition emphasizes logistic plan made to address the
problem of outbound distribution (moving product from place of production to
customer). In this, the logistic manager’s task is to coordinate the whole channel,
physical distribution system activities of suppliers, purchase agent, marketers, channel
members and customer.

3
4
 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The major objective of this study is to ascertain the effect of transportation on the
marketing of agricultural products in Jos. The specific objectives include the
following:
1. To ascertain the relationship between efficient transportation system and the cost
of agricultural products.
2. To determine the impact of transportation on the availability of agricultural
products in Jos North Local Government Area.
3. To determine the effect of transportation system infrastructure on the marketing of
agricultural products in Jos North.
4. To ascertain the relationship between transportation and the marketing of
agricultural products.
5. To proffer suggestions with a view to making the marketing of agricultural
products in Jos North more efficient and effective.
6. Examine the effects of transportation of produce by roads on farmers’ farm
income.
7. Determine farmers’ agricultural productivity level in relation to transportation of
produce.
8. Identify different modes of transportation of agricultural produce in the study
area.

5
 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
At present there are many research based literatures have attempt to deal with effects of
road infrastructure on agriculture.
According to Wharton [1967] agricultural infrastructures are categorized into [i]
capital intensive, like irrigation, roads, bridges [ii] capital extensive, like extension
services and [iii] institutional infrastructure, like formal and informal institutions.
Infrastructure, such as irrigation, watershed development, rural electrification, roads,
markets, in close coordination with institutional infrastructure, such as credit
institutions, agricultural research and extension, rural literacy determines the nature and
the magnitude of agricultural output in India. Adequate infrastructure raises farm
productivity and lowers farming costs and its fast expansion accelerates agricultural as
well as economic growth rate.
World Bank study (1997) estimated that 15% of the agricultural produce is lost
between the farm gate and the consumer because of poor roads and inappropriate
storage facilities alone, adversely influencing the income of farmers. Poor rural road
infrastructure limits the ability of the traders to travel to and communicate with remote
farming areas, limiting market access from these areas and eliminating competition for
their produce. Easier access to market allows expansion of perishable and transport-cost
intensive products.
Limao and venebles (1999) in a study of transportation costs in sub Saharan Africa
showed that roads are significant determinants of transportation cost, and that when a
region is land locked, transportation cost increased by 50percent. They reported that
most of Africa’s poor trade performance was the result of weak infrastructure.
Ahmed and Hussain (1990) an empirical study by demonstrated that the fertiliser use
in the agricultural sector increases with the improvement in the quality of road. It should
be noted that the transaction cost. That generally falls outside the cost of input prices
can be one of the major components of the total cost of production in the agricultural
sector and the infrastructure plays a dominant role in reducing the transaction cost. For
example, the transportation cost incurred by the farmers in a particular region, both for
transporting inputs to the field from the place of purchase and transporting the output to
the market place for final sale, can be substantial in the absence of proper transportation
facilities. Once the transportation infrastructure has been introduced, the transaction cost
may considerably be reduced which has the bearing on the total marginal cost of
production.
Binswanger, Deininger and Feder (1993) in a study of 13 states in India, found that
investments in rural infrastructure lowered transportation costs, increased farmers’

6
access to markets, and led to substantial agricultural expansion. Better roads also
lowered the transaction costs of credit services, resulting in increased lending to to
farmers, higher demands for agricultural inputs, and higher crop yields.
International Fund for Agricultural Development (1995) observed that construction
of rural roads almost inevitably leads to increase in agricultural production and
productivity by bringing in new land into cultivation, intensifying existing land use to
take advantage of expanded market opportunities. Better roads also lowered the
transaction costs of credit services, resulting in increased lending to farmers, higher
demand for agricultural inputs and higher crop yields.
Seid nuru, holgerbseebens (2008) investigate the impact of location on crop choice
and rural livelihood evidence from villages in northern Ethiopia. He found that
proximity to urban centers and access to roads increase the share of land allocate to cash
crop production and his study also reveals that market proximity may affect crop
choices is better access to information about prices or new technologies and house hold
located at closer to urban areas which access to road but who do not have irrigable land
tend to invest in commercial livestock farming.
Mellor's (1976) outline for the future economic development of India places
infrastructural development as one of the top priorities. Mellor indicates that
infrastructure plays a strategic role in producing large multiplier effects in the economy
with agricultural growth. As agricultural incomes grow, consumption expenditures
increase in rural areas, creating increased demand for urban goods-the multiplier effect.
Impact of Road and Road Transport in Agricultural Development
Rural Roads Connectivity is one of the important components for rural development, as
it promotes access to economic and social services, generating increased agricultural
income and productive employment. About 600 million people of India live in around 6
lakh villages spread all over the country. Road access provides the means to bring the
rural population on to the main stream. A better road network leads to efficient delivery
of farm inputs, reduce transport cost and enhance special agricultural production and
distribution. A better network of roads will expand the distribution of agricultural goods
as well as open up additional opportunities for agricultural trade (Inoni 2009).
A good infrastructure promotes to expansion of markets, economies of scale and easy
operations of factor markets. It also opens up the rural economy to greater competition
from outside. This may take the form of cheaper products from lower-cost sources of
supply or new or improved products that may displace some locally produced items.
The many of studies reveals that investment in infrastructure has a positive impact on
rural incomes.There was a positive relationship between increase in acreage of export
crop cultivation and the standard of roads and distance from the main commercial
7
centers. There is enhanced entrepreneurship activity, sharp decline in freight and
passenger charges and improved services as a result of investment in rural roads
(Bonney, 1964).Roads are always considered as an infrastructure and arteries of the
nation. Rural infrastructure become great importance in India because of the country’s
basically rural in nature.

Rural Roads and Change in Agricultural Production

Rural roads are not only providing connectivity to rural area but also affecting change in
cropping pattern due to access to markets, increasing productivity by facilitating
availability of inputs like fertilizer, seeds and pesticides, realization of better prices to
the farmers for agriculture and allied products like milk, improving attendance in
schools and above all opening new employment opportunities in non-farm and service
sectors (Sangwan S S, 2010).
All weather roads would promote the production of agricultural commodities. Its impact
is likely to be relatively greater in the production of highly perishable agricultural
products such as fresh vegetables, milk, eggs, poultry, fresh fruits, etc. These products
are also easily susceptible to spoilage on account of rough and slow haulage. Because of
these characteristics, the inadequacy of all weather village-to-market roads act as a great
obstacle to the expansion of their production for the market. Rural roads and
Transportation network bring about desirable communication related to agriculture and
farm practices and breaks isolation of villages by evoking awakening in the rural
farmers. A good Rural transport services which could facilitate the free flow of the
produce to consumer centers and agricultural inputs to rural areas are warranted to
facilitate efficient distribution of available food and to accelerate the rural development
in India. It helps the farmers and other rural artisans alike in supplementing their slender
earnings and in protecting from the ill-favored and squeezing brokers and middlemen.

Rural Road Infrastructure Development Programmes in India

Rural infrastructure Development is imperative for agriculture and overall economic
Development as also improving the living conditions. Rural roads are the most
important infrastructure for socio-economic betterment of the rural community. Rural
roads were create a good environment for economic prosperity and thereby ensuring
good living conditions for the rural inhabitants. Provision of rural roads increases
mobility of men and materials thus facilitates agricultural and economic growth.
Realising the conscious need for creation of basic infrastructure to support agriculture,
production, transport, marketing and other allied activities,
8
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (Pmgsy)
Rural connectivity is an important factor for overall development of rural community. In
the year 2000, around 40 per cent of the 8,25,000 villages in India has been suffering
from all-weather access roads. This constrained economic activities and access to
essential services. around 74 per cent of India’s rural population, constituting the
majority of India’s poor, were not fully integrated into the national economy. It reveals
that even connectivity is providedand constructed roadsare poor in quality and they
could not considered as all weather roads.
Recognising the importane of the rural road sector, the Government of India intended
improvement of rural connectivity. In pursuance of the nationally significant cause of
providing complete rural road connectivity through all weather roads, to remove
bottlenecks of accessibility and deprivation of accessibility and free from
the handicap of isolation, Government of India set up the National Rural Roads
Development Committee (NRRDC) in January, 2000 chaired by Shri Nitin Gadkari.
This committee after dwelling on the effects of deprivation of rural accessibility and
keeping in view expected benefits from rural connectivity recommended a special
intervention, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) which was launched on
25th December, 2000 as a 100% Centrally assisted scheme to provide all weather
connectivity to over 1.6 lakh eligible unconnected habitations at an estimated
expenditure of Rs. 60,000 crores. The PMGSY is to provide connectivity by way of an
All-weather road, to the unconnected eligible Habitations in the rural areas in such a
way that all unconnected Habitations with a population of 1000 persons and above can
be covered in three years (2000-03) and all unconnected Habitations with a population
of 500 persons and above by the end of the 10th Plan period (2007). In respect of the
Hill States and the Desert areas as well as the Tribal areas, the objective would be to
connect Habitations with a population of 250 persons and above.

Table-1: Habitations Connected and Length Completed Under PMGSY

SL.N States Habitations Length
O connected Completed Up
upto March to March 2015
2015 (KM)
1 AndraPradesh 1780 21294.77
&

9
 Telangana
2 Arunachala 336 4774.44
Pradesh
3 Assam 7510 15522.62
4 Bihar 13442 32913.59
5 Chattisgarh 8231 24426.49
6 Goa 2 158.70
7 Gujarat 2987 10556.76
8 Haryana 1 5190.31
9 Himachal 1957 10644.92
Pradesh
10 Jammu & 1413 6121.32
Kashmir
11 Jharkhand 5040 11303.06
12 Karnataka 275 16765.92
13 Kerala 375 2134.84
14 Mahya 13235 60386.23
Pradesh
15 Maharashtra 1211 22946.28
16 Manipur 388 4221.16
17 Meghalaya 181 1100.47
18 Mizoram 155 2322.16
19 Nagaland 90 3266.87
20 Odisha 9072 32387.82
21 Punjab 413 6227.74
22 Rajasthan 12878 56281.00
23 Sikkim 223 2670.18
24 Tamil Nadu 1948 12665.37
25 Tripura 1698 3110.46

10
 26 Uttar Pradesh 11129 43216.70
27 Uttarakhand 770 5645.80
28 West Bengal 11897 17991.47
29 Puducherry 0 68.53
Total 108637 436315
Source: Annual report 2014-15, National Rural Road Development Agency

Bharat Nirman
Bharat Nirman Programme is an important Programme to Provide the basic amenities in
rural areas of the country. Rural roads component is one of the six components of
Bharat Nirman. February 28, 2005, the Finance Minister in his budget speech has
announced this programme, that targets to seek to provide all- weather connectivity to
all habitations having population of 1000 or more (500 or more in hill, tribal and desert
areas) by 2009. While the primary objective of PMGSY has been to provide ‘last mist
connectivity’ to all unconnected eligible habitations, in order to ensure full farm to
market connectivity Bharat Nirman also includes an upgradation component. It is
estimated that under Bharat Nirman 66802 habitations would be provided new
connectivity with a road length of 1,46,185 km. Besides, 1.94 lakh km of existing
through routes of the Core.
Up to march 2014, as many as 51,253 habitations were provided connectivity and length
constructed as 1,72,916 kilometers under this programme.

Bharat Nirman- New connectivity length and Habitations Connected

Under the Bharath Nirman Program State wise the length of rural road constructed and
Habitations connected during April 2005 to March 2014 have been detailed at.
Table-2: New connectivity length and Habitations Connected by Bharath nirman
SL.N Name of the Length Habitations
o State constructed
up to march
2014 ( in
K.Ms)
1 Andra 2,513 221

11
 pradesh*
2 Arunachala 781 97
Pradesh
3 Assam 13,772 5333
4 Bihar 21,529 9288
5 Chattisgarh 12,924 3318
6 Goa 2 2
7 Gujarat 3,939 1271
8 Haryana 45 0
9 Himachal 3,950 650
Pradesh
10 Jammu & 4,592 1040
Kashmir
11 Jharkhand 6,964 2011
12 Karnataka 72 17
13 Kerala 180 70
14 Mahya 33,802 6789
Pradesh
15 Maharashtra 1,757 290
16 Manipur 1,703 237
17 Meghalaya 388 53
18 Mizoram 1,409 124
19 Nagaland 1,141 36
20 Odisha 16,185 5117
21 Punjab 178 50
22 Rajasthan 13,409 3913
23 Sikkim 896 131
24 Tamil Nadu 744 82
25 Tripura 2,209 689

12
 26 Uttar Pradesh 9,790 4080
27 Uttarakhand 4,474 454
28 West Bengal 13,569 5890
Total 1,72,916 51253

Rural Infrastructure Development Fund

Development of rural infrastructure is important for agricultural and overall economic
development as also improving the quality of life. Realising the conscious need for
creation of basic infrastructure to support agriculture, production, transport, marketing
and other allied activities, the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) was set up
within NABARD in 1995-96, as a lending facility. The Honorable Finance Minister in
his Budget speech declared "Inadequacy of public investment in agriculture sector is one
of the important matter of general concern. This is an area, which is the states
responsibility. Many States have neglected investment in infrastructure for agriculture.
There are many rural infrastructure projects which have been started but they are
incomplete because of shortage of funds. They create a major loss of potential income
and employment to rural population." Started with 2,000 crore during 1995-96 (RIDF I),
the annual allocation to the Fund has now reached 16,000 crore during 2010-11 (RIDF
XVI), taking the cumulative allocation to 1,16,000 crore. Additionally, a separate
window was introduced in 2006-07 for the funding rural roads component of the Bharat
Nirman Programme, with allocation of ` 18,500 crore, till 2009-10. The total allocation
for RIDF, thus, stood at 1,34,500 crore, as on 31 March 2011. The major activities
supported under RIDF include: Irrigation, Rural Bridge, Rural Roads, Rural Drinking
Water Supply, etc. Bulk of the investments made in creation of rural infrastructure has
been almost shared between irrigation (38.7%) and rural roads (40.1%) followed by
rural bridges (13.2%); leaving only 8 per cent for other infrastructure activities such as
Watershed development, Flood protection, Market-yard development, CADA, Cold-
storage, Fisheries, Forest development, Rural drinking water, etc.

Rural Road Infrastructure Development Programmes In Karnataka

The total rural road length upto March 2013 in Karnataka is 1, 47,212 Kms of which
48,811 Kms is asphalted, 21,980 Kms has macadam surface, and 76,421 Kms consists
of mud roads. since 1987 construction, improvement of rural roads and their
maintenance is the responsibility of the Zilla Panchayats. Technical supervision of the
roads at the state level, which was with the Public Works Department till the end of

13
1999, was transferred to the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department with
effect from 2000 onwards.
Improvement of roads and their maintenance is being taken up under Pradhan
Manthri Gram Sadak Yojana, Mukhya Manthri Grameena Rasthe Abhivruddhi Yojane
(CMGSY) and RIDF schemes.

Pradhan Manthri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)

In the state the PMGSY was launched during December 2000 with the objective of
providing rural connectivity by way of all-weather roads to eligible habitations having a
population of 500 and above by the end of 2007. Under this programme, Rs 3,642.12
crore was spent and 16,049.60 Kms of road length was asphalted as on October 2013. In
order to implement the scheme more effectively, Karnataka Rural Road Development
Agency was formed in January 2005. The agency is involved in preparation of projects
in each stage, implementation of the works (as approved by Government of India) as per
the required standards and, release of grants provided by Government of India. The
State has connected 2,235 unconnected habitations till recently.

Table-3 :Year wise details of Rural Connectivity

Year All weather Good Earthen Villages
Roads Roads not
(Kms) Roads (Kms)
(Kms) connected
by Roads
1997- 15,800 6,551 4,612 103
1998
1998- 16,305 6,419 4,255 87
1999
1999- 16,857 6,099 4,045 65
2000
2000- 17,442 5,764 3,819 41
2001
2001- 17,802 5,462 3,769 33
2002
14
 2002- 17,802 5,649 3,582 27
2003
2003- 18,295 5,860 3,501 20
2004
2004- 20,304 6,065 3,473 20
2005
2005- 22,454 6,146 3,422 17
2006
2006- 23,801 6,232 3,407 1718
2007
2007- 24,710 6,540 3,376 1718
2008
2008- 64,116 27,630 55,458 1718
2009
2009- 65,904 26,450 54,858 2235
2010
2010- 66,791 25,863 54,558 2235
2011
2011- 68,649 24,748 53,815 2235
2012
2012- 70,791 24,478 51,943 2235
2013
Source: Economic Survey of Karnataka 2013-14.

Table reveals the details of rural connectivity. 64,116 Kilometers of all weather roads,
27,630 Kms of good roads and 55,458 Kms of earthen roads were there and 1718
villages were not connected with the roads in the year 2008-09. In the year 2009-10 one
can notice that 65904 Kms of all weather roads, 26450 Kms of good roads and 54858
Kms of earthen roads were connected and 2235 of villages were not connected through
roads. 66791 Kms of weather roads, 25863 Kms of good roads and 54558 Kms of
earthen roads were connected and 2235 villages are not connected with villages in the
year 2010-11. In the year 2011-12 all weather roads were about 68649 Kms, good roads
were 24748 Kms and 53815 Kms were earthen roads was constructed and same as the
number of village roads which were not connected with roads remains the same in the
15
present year and also in the 2012-13. All weather roads were increased to 70791 Kms,
and good roads were about 24478 Kms and 51943 Kms of earthen roads were connected
during year 2012-13.

Chief Minister Gram Sadak Yojana:

To provide all wether connectivity to the rural habitations as per the design standerds
and to maintain the same to the required standerds for their overall social and economic
development. Presently chief minister gram sadak yojana (CMGSY) roads maintaiance
and development I undertaken. Under Mukhya Mantri Gramina Raste Abhivruddi
Yojana a sum of Rs.14,827.50 lakhs have been provided in the annual budget for 2011-
12.
Under Mukhya Manthri Grameena Rasthe Abhivruddhi Yojane, a sum of Rs.14979.70
lakhs was provided in the annual budget for 2012-13. The funds so provided were
allocated to Zilla Panchayats as per Dr.D.M.Nanjundappa Committee report for
maintenance of roads in the state of Karnataka.

Namma Grama Namma Raste (Our Village, Our Road) Yojana

Rural Road Connectivity is not only a key component of Rural Development by
promoting access to economic and social services and thereby generating increased
agricultural incomes , improving productivity and productive employment
opportunities in India, it is also as a result, a key ingredient in ensuring sustainable
poverty reduction. The Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Of
Government of Karnataka have launched the Namma Grama Namma Raste Yojana on
January, 2010 to provide
all- weather access to unconnected habitations. The Namma Grama Namma Raste
Yojana (NGNRY) is a 100% State Sponsored Scheme. RDPR Minister Jagadish
Shettar, after launching the system here, said that the department had taken up
development and upgradation of 20 km of roads in each Rural Assembly constituency
under NGNR scheme.
The important objective of the NGNRY is to provide all weather road connectivity, by
way of an All- weather Road (with necessary culverts and cross-drainage structures,
which is operable throughout the year), to the eligible unconnected rural Habitations.
The NGNRY will permit the Upgradation of the existing roads in those Districts where
all the eligible Habitations have been provided all-weather road connectivity. rural road
improvement projects worth Rs 3,658 crore in 189 Assembly constituencies across the

16
state. Under one scheme, 20/30 km of rural roads will be developed in each of the 189
Assembly segments at a cost of Rs 42 lakh per km
— which includes a maintenance period of five years.From NGNRY phase I 1400 No.
of works for a length of 3714.65 km have been approved. Out of which all works have
been completed.

17
 METHODOLOGY
Primary and secondary sources of data such as questionnaires, focus group discussion,
texts, journals as well as internet browsing were utilized for the study. One hundred and
fifty respondents were selected from 10 villages using a systematic sampling method.
In each village, a total of fifteen copies of questionnaire were administered to the farm
families. The questionnaire sought information on the socio-economic characteristics of
the respondents, farm income, cost of transportation, the type and output of agricultural
production and frequency of modes of transportation used and the effects of transport
on agricultural production. Interview and discussions were conducted with the
transporters and farmers respectively in order to find out their own opinion about the
conditions of the roads to each settlement sampled. Descriptive statistics such as tables
of frequencies and percentages were used to analyze the data gathered.

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 DATA INTERPRETATION
Q1. Transportation modes use in study area for Agricultural Produce from Farm to House

Area Head Bicycle cart Van Tractor Total

Load
Sakhara 8 7 - - - 15
Sujanpur 4 5 6 - - 15
Tendua 6 3 2 4 15
Dusadhi
Suara 3 3 2 7 - 15
Nawadih 9 1 3 - 2 15
Pahleza 4 - 5 6 - 15
Mathuri 10 - 2 3 15
Bardiha 3 2 6 3 1 15
Katar 2 2 4 7 - 15
Khudrawan 8 2 3 1 1 15
Total 57 25 33 28 7 150
(38) (16.7) (22) (18.7) (4.6) (100)
The study revealed that farm plots were scattered all over the study area at varying
distances away from the houses and motorable roads. This is in a bid to search for fertile
land and also because of the land tenure system in the study area. Respondents were
however asked about the different modes of transportation of produce to their houses as
well as the markets (towns). Different modes

19
of transportation were identified by them and these included head load, bicycle,
motorcycle and public transport (lorries, pick- up and buses) all of which are through
road transport as the most predominant and readily available mode of transporting their
produce from where produced to where needed. Table 1 shows that 38% used head
porterage in all the settlements, 16.7% employed the use of bicycle, 22% use cart,
18.7% indicated pick-up vans and 4.6% used tractor. The effect of higher percentage use
of head porterage is that it has limited the potential level of production because they can
only carry certain quantity at a time.

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 Q2. Mode of transportation of Agricultural Produce from farm to the Town
(Market)

Motorcycle Pick-up/cart Lorries/trans Total

Area pot

Sakhara 7 8 - 15
Sujanpur 6 4 5 15
Tendua Dusadhi 5 6 4 15
Suara 5 10 - 15
Nawadih 4 8 3 15
Pahleza 5 10 - 15
Mathuri 7 5 3 15
Bardiha 8 6 1 15
Katar 4 9 2 15
Khudrawan 3 3 9 15
Total 54 (36) 69 (46) 27 (18) 150(100)

36% of the respondents indicated the use of bikes in transporting their produce from
farm to different towns, 46% employed the use of Pick-up vans while only 18%
indicated the use of Lorries to transport their produce from farms to towns. The reason
for the use of these modes of transportation is because of the bad condition of the roads
from their farm to towns.

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Q3 Transportation cost in different area
Less than 5000-10000 10000-15000 >15000 Total
Area 5000(yearly)
Sakhara - 3 5 7 15
Sujanpur 1 2 10 2 15
Tendua Dusadhi - 4 6 5 15
Suara - 1 6 8 15
Nawadih 5 4 6 - 15
Pahleza 6 3 4 2 15
Mathuri 2 7 3 3 15
Bardiha 3 8 2 2 15
Katar - 2 12 1 15
Khudrawan 4 7 3 1 15
Total 21(14) 41(27.3) 57 (38) 31 (20.7) 150
(100)

Cost of transportation of agricultural produce from the farm sites to the market has a
great impact on production and income of farmers. This is because transport charges on
agricultural produce vary with type of crops, the efficiency of the transport and distance
travelled. Table 3 revealed that 14% spent nothing less than 5000 annually in moving
their produce to the market, 27.3% spent between 5000 and 10,000, 38% of the farmers
spent between 10000 and 15000, 20.7% spent more than 15000 annually to transport
their farm produce to the various towns where demands are high. This means a
significant proportion of the farmers’ income had gone to transportation and this is as a
result of bad roads in these areas. Farmers that spent less than 5000 annually are those
engaged in vegetable production. This is given the fact that majority (76%) of the
farmers earned less than 35000 annually from their farm produce. High cost of
transportation would translate to high selling price and if the price is too high when
compared with other farmers from other areas, customers will not buy and this may
result to selling at a loss.

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Transportation Problems
Respondents were asked to list the transportation problems encountered in the process
of transporting their produce from the farm to their houses and markets. According to
them these problems included: bad roads, high cost of transportation, irregularity of
vehicles, insufficiency of vehicles, insufficient means of transportation and long
distance from farm to their houses as well as markets. Table 4 showed that only 14% of
the farmers trekked less than 1km from their houses to their farms. Others 30%, 38%
and 18% trekked 1-4km, 4- 7km, and 7-10km respectively from their various houses to
their farms. All these distances take a very long time for them to get produce from
source to destinations.
Table 4 Distance from farm to the House

Less than 1-4km 4-7km 7-10km Total

Settlements 1km

Sakhara 5 2 7 1 15
Sujanpur 3 4 6 2 15
Tendua Dusadhi - 5 3 7 15
Suara 6 3 2 4 15
Nawadih - 7 8 - 15
Pahleza - 5 9 1 15
Mathuri - 6 5 4 15
Bardiha - 3 4 8 15
Katar 2 6 7 - 15
Khudrawan 5 4 6 - 15
Total 21(14) 45(30) 57(38) 27(18) 150(100)

Discussions were held with farmers and transporters in the sampled settlements, from
their discussions it was discovered that most of the roads linking these areas to one
another are in bad condition. It was further gathered that road transport does not only
have impact on the development of the agricultural production but also on the socio-
economic development of the people in all these communities and rural development as
a whole. Most of them indicated that they pay high fare in order to get their produce to
where needed and this in turn affects their farm income. Invariably they do not realise
enough

money that can take good care of their households. The result of the interview with the
transporters revealed that they prefer to be plying area that are well connected with good
roads than those that are not connected with good roads. According to them, they
pointed out that bad road conditions affect their cars and lorries to the extent they do
not want to patronize the study area again. Furthermore, they indicated that their
patronage of these areas is because most of them are indigenes of these communities.
23
24
Impact of Transportation on Agriculture
The contribution of transportation to agricultural development as presented in Table 2
shows that 23% of the farmers through improved accessibility to their communities has
improved their income status, 16.8% of the respondents (farmers) indicates that their
farm produce attract high demand due to improved access; 15.5% also show that
improved transport flow in their communities have given them employment in
agricultural; while 14.9 have easy access to market for their produce among others. In
remote areas only 4.1% have improved income from the difficult access in the area.
The responses imply that communities with good accessibility and good transportation
network have competitive advantage in the area of income, demand (number of
customers) and employment opportunities

Sales

Access to farm input Improved income Easy access to farm Employment opportunities
Accessibility to market High demand of farm products others

Farmers response on impact of rural transportation on agriculture

25
 FINDINGS

Based on the analysis, the following findings were made.

i. Transportation plays an important role in the marketing of agricultural products.
Effective distribution of agricultural products depends on efficient transportation
system.
ii. Transportation helps in creating market for agricultural products by conveying
farm products to where they are needed. Also it helps in conveying people to the
market place where they make purchases.
iii. Improvement in transportation can encourage farmers to work hard in increasing
production.
iv. Good transportation system helps in reducing spoilage and wastages of farm
products.
v. Transportation-related problems contributed to the high cost of farm produce in
the market.
vi. The means of transportation used by majority of the farmers is road transportation
which is fairly convenient to convey the farm products to the market.

26
 CONCLUSION

It is quite obvious, that transportation is responsible for the development of agriculture

and other industries right from the past to the present by meeting travel requirement of
people, goods and services from areas of production to areas of consumption. In an
agrarian culture like Rohtas the impacts of transportation spans different areas of
economic, environment, social, agricultural, political background. For ustainable
resource management and productivity, transportation is therefore a sine quanon. In
view of the above, the researcher hereby recommended that;
 Rural transport system linking farms and markets should be given priority
 Incentives should be made available to farmers.
 Sustainable land use planning is important for sustainable productivity
 Due to perishability, seasonality, Bulkiness of agricultural products, agriculture
cannot thrive without flexible transportation system, effective transport system
is important

27
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