Development of Rural Periodic Market Centres: An Effective Strategy for Rural Development in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

Traditional periodic markets have a long history in Rivers State. The reason for the establishment and geographical spread of these markets was to enhance the distribution of commodities produced locally with the primary objective of expanding the local economic base of the rural people. Beside commerce they also serve as centres for exchange of ideas and civilization through social and political interaction. For these purposes they generate high traffic flow and had opened up channels of interaction with the outside world. It is therefore accepted by this research that with such high traffic flow and interaction, the development of these periodic market centres through infrastructural location will help promote development from “below” in the State. Development from “below” has become inevitable in the face of the high level of rural poverty that had astronomically fuelled rural-urban migration in Rivers State. This will also help in reducing the population pressure on Port Harcourt which had over the years been the only primate city in the State. This paper is a product of an intense field research. Information from the field helped greatly in the success of the paper. The residual knowledge of the researcher in the subject matter couple with the work of previous scholars also helped greatly. Primary data were collected through the use of structured questionnaire directed at the buyers and sellers in the periodic markets. Oral discussion through face-to-face interview with the rural dwellers in the study areas was also employed where necessary. Focus group discussion in the form of “town hall” meetings with representatives of sample communities was also employed to derive relevant information. Aside from some difficulties experienced due to the geography of the State, the research was a success as the response rate was very high.

Keyword: Development, Market, Rivers State, City, Rural