| dc.description.abstract | A survey of a number of studies, both empirical and theoretical,
indicates a close link between road improvement and agricultural change.
Improved roads provide rural people with access to markets, goods and
services that are crucial to the development process. Despite this awareness,
there is little information on the nature, scope and measurement of this
relationship. This study analyzes the direct and indirect effects of the
improvement of roads on fertilizer use and potato yield in Kinangop
Division, Nyandarua District, Kenya.
Kinangop is an agriculturally rich area. The area is characterized by
very poor roads. This research was conceived to study what effects road
improvement might have on farm productivity in the area. Road improvement
was hypothesized to have direct effect on fertilizer use and indirect effect on
potato yield. A sample of 168 households, or 1% of the total number of
households estimated to be living in Kinangop in 1994 was randomly selected
for study. Household and farm related data sets were collected using a
structured questionnaire schedule.
The data was then subjected to partial and multivariate analyses.
Results obtained indicate that the improvement on road quality and increase
in market accessibility have significant effect on fertilizer use. Similarly, the
use of fertilizer has a strong and significant effect on potato yield. Change in
the quality of roads has no significant effect on potato yield. These findings
demonstrate that road quality influences potato yield through fertilizer use.
Farmers in areas served by high quality roads applied more fertilizer per acre
than those in areas served by medium and low quality roads. Changes in
average potato yield are linked to fertilizer use.
The importance of this study is that it has for the first time attempted
to integrate the qualitative and quantitative aspects of roads by combining
physical distance with road quality or 'class' into a market accessibility
index. Such an approach may have wider application in studying the
developmental impact of improving other infrastructure components. Thus,
the significance of this study derives from the perception that improving the
quality of roads enhances market accessibility. The study demonstrates that
the quality of the rural road network has a direct effect on fertilizer use and
an indirect effect on potato yield. The results of the study suggest that
improving the quality of a road can induce farmers to invest more on
fertilizer. As a consequence of this, there will be growth in agricultural
productivity, rural incomes and national food security will be safeguarded | en |
