Resource information
This study examines the relationship
between transport infrastructure and agriculture in
Sub-Saharan Africa using new data obtained from geographic
information systems (GIS). First, the authors analyze the
impact of road connectivity on crop production and choice of
technology. Second, they explore the impact of investments
that reduce road travel times. Finally, they show how this
type of analysis can be used to compare cost-benefit ratios
for alternative road investments in terms of agricultural
output per dollar invested. The authors find that
agricultural production is highly correlated with proximity
(as measured by travel time) to urban markets. Likewise,
adoption of high-productive/high-input technology is
negatively correlated with travel time to urban centers.
There is therefore substantial scope for increasing
agricultural production in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly
in more remote areas. Total crop production relative to
potential production is 45 percent for areas within four
hours travel time from a city of 100,000 people. In
contrast, it is just 5 percent for areas more than eight
hours away. Low population densities and long travel times
to urban centers sharply constrain production. Reducing
transport costs and travel times to these areas would expand
the feasible market size for these regions. Compared to West
Africa, East Africa has lower population density, smaller
local markets, lower road connectivity, and lower average
crop production per unit area. Unlike in East Africa,
reducing travel time does not significantly increase the
adoption of high-input/high-yield technology in West Africa.
This may be because West Africa already has a relatively
well-connected road network.
