Revising the Roads Investment Strategy in Rural Areas : An Application for Uganda
Based on extensive data collection in Uganda, this paper demonstrates that the rural access index, as defined today, should not be a government objective because the benefit of such investment is minimal, whereas achieving rural accessibility at le...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20090901135551 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4230 |
| Summary: | Based on extensive data collection in
Uganda, this paper demonstrates that the rural access index,
as defined today, should not be a government objective
because the benefit of such investment is minimal, whereas
achieving rural accessibility at less than 2 kilometers
would require massive investments that are not sustainable.
Taking into account the fact that plot size is limited on
average to less than 1 hectare, a farmer s transport
requirement is usually minimal and does not necessarily
involve massive investments in infrastructure. This is
because most farmers cannot fully load a truck or pay for
this service and, even if productivity were to increase
significantly, the production threshold would not be reached
by most individual farmers. Therefore, in terms of public
policy, maintenance of the existing rural roads rather than
opening new roads should be given priority; the district
feeder road allocation maintenance formula should be revised
to take into account economic potential and, finally, policy
makers should devote their attention to innovative marketing
models from other countries where smallholder loads are
consolidated through private-based consolidators. |
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