Improving
the Growth Impact of Rural Transport Activities in Sub-Saharan Africa
Outline of presentation
·
Context
of and approach to the study
·
Policy
and institutional context for RT in SSA
·
Study
process
·
Lessons
from the reviews and good practice examples
·
Essential
building blocks of a framework for provision of RT
·
Next
steps
·
Selected
features of RT in SSA
Approach to the review of rural
accessibility and agriculture in SSA
·
A
desk study
·
Identify
lessons from past project reviews, sector programs & analytical work
·
Identify
good practice from outside SSA
·
Document
recent implementation experiences & outcomes within SSA
·
Develop
an updated framework of good practice for country level & Bank and Donor
partner audience
Context: WDR08 & other recent
agriculture sector studies conclude…
·
Getting
agriculture moving requires improved access to markets, more efficient &
responsive marketing chains – rural transport improvements are essential
·
But
transport is but one of a number of pre & post farm activities (e.g.
storage, processing) that add value to farm production & are essential to
agricultural transformation …and rural development
·
Other
factors include… complementary investments in economic and social sectors;
policy and local institutional capacity
·
Other
factors: complementary investments e.g
other types of infrastructure; policy & institutional framework, and…
·
local
institutional ability to plan, implement, maintain infrastructure.
Selected features of RT in SSA
·
Low
population density (although higher in areas of agricultural potential)
·
Community
roads, tracks, paths are largest portion of the national network
·
As
trunk roads have improved, lowest tiers are emerging as biggest constraint to market
access and rural mobility
·
Technical
and institutional requirements for local investments are different from those
for higher level roads – investments are smaller per km, technologies simpler,
but often challenging
Bullet
4 (last bullet): examples of local area
technologies: gravel vs. paved; IMT vs. motorized vehicles
Improving RT faces constraints in SSA
·
While
overall transport investments have increased, rural transport is still
underfunded; many lack access to the improved trunk road networks
·
Rural
transport sustainability remains a challenge:
§ Gravel roads are
often most appropriate but deteriorate quickly & need frequent
maintenance: What is the correct
choice of technology and standards?
§ Government
financing sources are limited & responsibilities may lie at multiple
levels: Who finances?
§ Many local
stakeholders exist in decentralizing environments w/ unclear roles: Who owns and manages?
Policy & institutional context for
RT has evolved since 1980s
·
Agricultural
reforms have changed spatial patterns of production & trade (transport is a
derived demand)
·
Decentralization
and CDD have moved institutional focus of planning, implementation &
maintenance of local infrastructure downward to beneficiaries
·
Donors
& governments are shifting to program support for sectors: requires
coherent policy, budget dialogue/devolved financing
Could
add something on NEPAD/CAADP’s ambitious growth plans, and how they and donors
are also trying to deal with the regional infrastructure tier
Lessons from the review: sustainability
is the biggest challenge and has many facets
Policy
and Institutional sustainability requires:
·
Integrating
agriculture/rural & transport sectors in sector strategy & investment
cycle
·
Putting
community at center of process; requires community participation, capacity
·
Ensuring
that rural accessibility can be introduced into non-transport sector activities
·
Central
focus should be assuring maintenance of RT infrastructure and the associated
services
Bullet 1 sources: Rural Roads
in SA (1991), IEG Review, RT A Review of 15 Years, Roads
Are Not Enough. Additional comment: Investment cycle (for donors as well as
government) includes investment planning, identification, preparation &
appraisal, financing, implementation, and maintenance.
Bullet 2 sources: (Transport
and the Village; Improving Rural Mobility). Additional comment: local capacity building
requires give TA & training from eight to ten years to build local
government and community instits, as well as local private contractors,
engineers.
Additional comment: some reviews also see need for establishment
of rural roads units in roads agency w/ autonomy & funding.
Lessons from sector programs, analytical
work
·
Good
road is necessary but not sufficient for assuring good rural transport, agricultural
and rural growth
·
Rural
transport starts from the village household, and drives rural development that
emerges in context of local area institutions; focus needs to shift from “roads
provision” to investing also in agriculture/rural development allowing RT to
facilitate growth
·
Other
sectors are essential to the growth process
·
RT
needs usually different from the higher levels of the road network – testing,
learning and sharing needed
Common themes from good practice outside
SSA: Peru, Vietnam, Bangladesh
All cases show:
·
Importance of preparing a good policy &
strategy
·
Need to engage for the long term for maximum
results
·
The
feasibility of achieving results through integration of multi-sector components
·
Flexibility,
innovation needed in local institutions
·
Peru:
shows promise of bringing rural infrastructure into public expenditure process
(dedicated Rural Infrastructure window)
·
These
reflect much of the recommendations of the RTTP for SSA
SSA good practice: Ethiopian Rural Travel &
Transport Program results
·
Well
organized local planning; in pilot “weredas” (LG) constructed and maintained
roads substantially reduced travel time, increased market activity, farm &
local market agricultural prices
·
Mobility
in rural areas increased with new bus, transport services, IMTs (mainly animal
carts)
·
Increased
agricultural production, marketed output, new products; reductions in local
price of mfd. goods
·
Labor-based
methods successfully used, achieved good construction standard; popular &
sustainable
Challenge: Resources for expansion to all weredas
Background: Rural Travel
and Transport Strategy (1998), following multi-sector development approach; In
2002 began to implement pilot projects in eight different regions (pilot is
ongoing)
Bullet 1 comment: reductions due to due to the opening up of routes to the
passage of motorized transport and the switch of transport mode from back
loading or animal transport to motorized means.
Bullet 2 comment: IMTs aided by
micro-credit under the ERTTP pilot project
Essential building blocks of an RT
framework (1)
·
Set
objective for access & mobility that supports rural & agricultural
development
·
Define
clear (macro, sectoral) policy that facilitates pro-poor growth, rural
development, decentralization & local empowerment to enable access
provision
·
Achieving
impact requires scaling up so there is a need to establish consensus &
create ownership for an agreed national policy and strategic framework
·
Ensure
participation and input from multiple sectors (transport, agriculture, other
infrastructure) at national, regional & local level through institutions
for planning, budgeting, & implementation
Bullet
3 requires inter alia consensus on a national policy
Sustainability
of interventions require ownership (national/local), relevance and
affordability and appropriate institutional framework)
Essential building blocks of an RT
framework (2)
·
Design
& implement RT interventions to help catalyze specific elements of rural
growth: agricultural marketing access; small-farm commercialization, reduced
price risk, increased non-farm investment, social infrastructure, etc.
·
Monitor
& plan for scale-up of successful pilots (identify costs, capacity needs,
training for scale-up)
·
Define
road network, ownership, management roles, design standards & financing
arrangements
What is needed at country level? (1)
·
Set
of firm institutional arrangements at national, regional & local levels for
policy and strategy formulation, planning and programming , management and
implementation;
·
Participation
of multiple sectors including transport in ag. and rural growth planning and
policy at national level
·
Inclusion
of rural transport/infrastructure as an element of both transport and
agricultural/rural sector strategy (national-level) & national budget
process (a la Peru)
·
Tools
for national and local planning that help establish link between RT
interventions and specific rural growth elements (agricultural marketing;
commercialization, price stability, non-farm investment, social infrastructure,
etc.)
What is needed at country level? (2)
·
Simple
tools for localities:
o
Local
network assessment and prioritization
o
Menu
of technical options (road designs, IMT). Are good gravels being depleted?
Do we have alternative affordable designs?
o
Tools
to cost options over the life-cycle
o
Cost-benefit
analysis methods
·
Methods
to scale-up successful pilots (reduce costs, identify capacity & training
needs – possibly test with demonstration project)
·
Road
classification exercise to define road network, ownership, management roles,
design standards & financing arrangements
What is needed from the World
Bank/donors?
·
Multisectoral
GIS-type analysis of infrastructure & productive activities, as entry point
for joint evaluation of growth opportunities; input to Country Assistance
Strategies, PRSP
·
Intersectoral
collaboration requires learning over time, long-term institutional support.
Options for WB and partners are:
o
@ sector-level: (1) new dedicated multisectoral
RT/RI unit; or (2) RT/RI unit established within SD comprised of ag/rural &
transport specialists. Disseminate knowledge cross-country.
o
@ country-level: Country-based SLs given
responsibility, budget, incentives to form and manage intersectoral teams
piloting sustainable rural infrastructure operations/analysis.
Next Steps
·
Development
of a checklist of operational tools needed to apply the framework (November
2009)
·
Peer
review of the draft report (December 2009)
·
Finalization
of the report (January 2010)
·
Publication
and dissemination of the report (February 2010)
·
Piloting
(subject to funding) of the application of the framework in target countries
(during 2010)