Crop Production and Road Connectivity in Sub-Saharan Africa : A Spatial Analysis

Dorosh, Paul ; Wang, Hyoung-Gun ; You, Liang ; Schmidt, Emily

关键词: ACCESS TO MARKETS;    ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY;    ACCESSIBILITY;    AGGLOMERATION ECONOMIES;    AGGREGATE SUPPLY;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-5385
RP-ID  :  WPS5385

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This study examines the relationshipbetween transport infrastructure and agriculture inSub-Saharan Africa using new data obtained from geographicinformation systems (GIS). First, the authors analyze theimpact of road connectivity on crop production and choice oftechnology. Second, they explore the impact of investmentsthat reduce road travel times. Finally, they show how thistype of analysis can be used to compare cost-benefit ratiosfor alternative road investments in terms of agriculturaloutput per dollar invested. The authors find thatagricultural production is highly correlated with proximity(as measured by travel time) to urban markets. Likewise,adoption of high-productive/high-input technology isnegatively correlated with travel time to urban centers.There is therefore substantial scope for increasingagricultural production in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularlyin more remote areas. Total crop production relative topotential production is 45 percent for areas within fourhourstravel time from a city of 100,000 people. Incontrast, it is just 5 percent for areas more than eighthours away. Low population densities and long travel timesto urban centers sharply constrain production. Reducingtransport costs and travel times to these areas would expandthe feasible market size for these regions. Compared to WestAfrica, East Africa has lower population density, smallerlocal markets, lower road connectivity, and lower averagecrop production per unit area. Unlike in East Africa,reducing travel time does not significantly increase theadoption of high-input/high-yield technology in West Africa.This may be because West Africa already has a relativelywell-connected road network.