Improving Agricultural Physical Marketing Infrastructure in Africa Through More Self-Help

Abstract

The paper provides a brief overview of the problems of physical agricultural marketing infrastructure in Africa, with particular reference to rural roads and marketing facilities, such as storage, processing and market centres. In order to overcome these constraints, it is necessav to strengthen macro policy changes, with particular reference to commodity marketing, rural finance and government decentralization policies with the obiective of providing more incentives to marketing enterprises and local authorities to promote infrastructure development. Changes in macro policies have to be supported by adequate training programmes, support to institution building and adjustment of aid strategies to encourage self-help in developing marketing infrastructure.