Funding Mechanisms and Investment Models for Rural Road Transport Infrastructure: Unplugging Transport System Problems for the Performance of Smallholder Farmers

Abstract

This chapter examines how road transportation infrastructure affects the performance of smallholder farmers in developing countries. Local and global infrastructure needs, the widening 'financing gap', and the growing role of the public sector in the delivery of transportation infrastructure have been at the forefront of public and private debate for the past three decades, attracting the attention of both academia and industry. The current global financial crisis (GFC) was only the latest reminder that governments have found it increasingly difficult to maintain high-quality transportation infrastructure in an era of restricted public spending, which has steadily dropped since the 1970s. The chapter revealed that transport infrastructure, in particular, is linked to economic development and hence generates direct and indirect benefits. The characteristics of the transport mode to which the asset under consideration belongs will influence system development while also defining the bounds and capabilities of the business model.