The cassava food commodity market and trade network in
igeria
2.5.4 Barriers to trade In 1999, the World Bank estimated that igeria had over 30,000 kilometers of paved roads. This must have improved significantly since the democratic dispensation as roads were usually considered one of the compulsory "dividends of democracy". The Nigerian road network is considered one of the best in sub-Saharan Africa. However, most feeder roads to cassava producing areas are in bad condi tion, with many of them being un-motorable during tbe rainy season. It is anticipated that wi th a good road network, trade in agricultural commodities and food distribution wou ld be easy. But this is not usually the case, as there are several road barriers mounted by several official and unofficial agencies of governments (including local , state, and federal governments) . The Nigerian police are the most notable and visible. To quote President Olusgun Obasanjo in a National Seminar on Economic Crimes organized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abuj a, ' Corruption bas weakened the public security system especially the police that came to be known for its pathological fixation on collection of bribes and illegal toll and levies". In short Nigerian intercity roads are relatively good but expensive to use for trade and business. One study (Ezedinma et a1. 2005) observed that the number of police and other officia l roadblocks tends to increase in number on market days in tbe various community markets in Nigeria. Apart from the high cost of running business on Nigerian roads, other problems acting as barriers to trade include non-functional railways and waterways and epileptic power supply. It is important to say that energy supply is instrumental to the development of every sector of the national economy, since no meaningful development is possible without reliable power supply. 2.5.5 Seasons and cycles for cassava based products: the case of gar; All cassava products go through a seasonal pattern over the year in which prices ri se and fall within specific months in the year. In order to describe this situation we use the case of gar; in Nigeria. Gar; is cheapest in the months of July to September, and most expensive from December to April. This is because the prices of cassava roots are also expensive at this time . As the dry season advances from November to March, the soil is caked, and so it becomes very difficult and arduous to harvest cassava roots. This cost is also transferred all the way down to the consumer. Once the rains begin in April, the cost of gar; begins to drop in the urban market as the roots become easier to harvest. As the planting season advances towards the harvest of the first staple crop, maize, cassava prices begin to drop further. As more crops are harvested from July to September, the price of gar; drops to its lowest in the year. In addition, gar; prices a lso show a cyclical pattern from year to year as shown in Figure 2.11 . In Nigeria gar; prices exhibit cyclical peaks and troughs due mainly to the inability of markets to absorb suppl ies. As a result in the years when cassava is scarce the price goes up and farmers are encouraged to plant; production goes up in subsequent years and the price comes down, prompting farmers to plant less until the price goes up again in a cycle of approximately two to three years. Such cyclical changes cause price instability, and significantly increase the income ri sk to producers. However, in real terms (taking into consideration inflation) the price received by farmers has reduced considerably between 1993 and 2000 (Figure 2 . 11 ). The decline in real prices for gar; is an incentive to diversify into the production of other products, such as ethanol , starch, flour, and pellets, which can profitably be produced from cassava. This wi ll probably help to even out prices over time and reduce the two- to three- year cyclical price fluctuations.
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