Scoping and Technical Studies

Scoping Studies provide initial assessments and proof-of-concept reports designed to inform and thereby support agricultural investment and development decisions. Typically these assessments are more limited in scope and provide preliminary, but nonetheless, potentially useful information and results. Technical studies are targeted for analysts and include information on the range of technical approaches being developed and deployed by HarvestChoice and its partners.

Case Study Number 1

Estimating Spatial Transportation Costs

Farm productivity growth is widely understood to be a precondition for broad based economic development in most of the developing world. Achieving productivity growth is likely to involve substantially increased use of inputs purchased off-farm, improved seed and fertilizer being two important examples. However, farmers, especially many smallholder farmers throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, face several barriers that make it difficult for them to economically access productive inputs. Arguably one of the most significant of these barriers is the high cost of transporting inputs to farms and getting farm outputs to markets. This case study constructs a framework for examining the spatial distribution of transport cost. By simulating transport costs at pixel level using GIS spatial analysis tools, we demonstrate how spatially specific input and output prices are influenced by variables such as the extent and quality of road networks, the slope of the terrain, and the type of land cover.

Case study document under preparation.