Transporting the yield: Appropriate transport for agricultural production and marketing in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

The conventional approach towards agricultural transport in Sub-Saharan Africa focuses mostly on motorized transport. This approach is too narrow because it does not reflect the transport requirements and purchasing power of small-scale farmers. This paper explains why a broader approach that includes not only roads, but also paths and tracks; not only trucks but also intermediate means of transport such as donkeys, bicycles and animal carts can considerably improve agricultural transport. Even though the effects of an appropriate approach on agricultural production, marketing and income can be significant, it is more often rejected by decision-makers as primitive and backward.