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Dept for International Development

Answer

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of aid programmes involving the supply of animals and the infrastructure to support them for transport and trading produce purposes in remote areas of the developing world; what support the Department is giving to such programmes; and if he will make a statement. [197555] Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID is currently supporting initiatives in excess of £500,000 to improve the marketing of food crops through appropriate transport for poor farmers in Uganda and Kenya. Local forms of transport that are distributed to farmers' groups include oxen, ox-carts, donkeys, donkey-carts and bicycles. In 2002, DFID funded an assessment of local transport solutions for the rural poor that highlighted lessons arising from the World Bank's experience in Sub-Saharan Africa. A key conclusion of the assessment is the need to place greater emphasis on local transport solutions, which have wider benefits for the poor living in remote rural areas, particularly those based on animal traction. DFID has continued to fund programmes associated with this study; for example the International Forum for Rural Transport and Development, which promotes improvements in mobility and accessibility for poor people. I have arranged for a copy of the document entitled `Local Transport Solutions for Rural Development' to be placed in the Library of the House of Commons.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

426 c1518W;426 c1522W; 197555

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Crops Developing countries Development aid Infrastructure Transport Rural areas