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Impact Study—Brazil Secondary and Feeder Roads
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This study dealt with feeder roads in Bahia, financed through two Bank projects approved in 1976 and 1979. Brazil’s economy had experienced large swings over the past three decades, with high growth rates until the mid-1970s, deteriorating conditions reaching negative growth rates in the early 1980s, and growth resuming thereafter. Bahia, one of Brazil’s northeastern states, relies heavily on agriculture, which represents some 20 percent of the state’s GDP.
In 1976, in support of Brazil’s rural development strategy, the Bank shifted its lending for highways from trunk roads to feeder roads in an effort to connect agricultural production areas with villages and markets. The two projects financed improvement of 1,500 km of roads, mostly in clusters or mini-networks, to be built in areas with good agricultural potential, notably for coffee, cacao, or dairy, but with inadequate infrastructure.
Study Scope and Methodology
The study grouped the roads financed under the two feeder roads projects into three regions according to their economic activity: the coffee, cocoa, and dairy regions. Out of the 63 roads financed, the study selected 20 roads (forming 15 continuous roads) with a total extension of 410 km. Neither of the two road projects identified control roads. Thus, this study focused on changes, qualitative as well as quantitative, before and after the road improvements.
The initial field work was conducted in 1993 by the lnstituto Sociedade, Populaqao c Natureza (ISPN, a Brazilian nongovernmental organization), under IEG’s direction. The ISPN team visited municipalities and conducted structured and informal interviews along sample roads. The team also collected socioeconomic and road data. Complementary field work was undertaken in 1996.
Impacts—Demographic and Regional Context
The roads covered in the study served about half a million people, about two-thirds of whom lived in urban settings and the rest in rural communities. About 20 percent of them were poor: small farmers, landless farm workers, and urban unemployed or underemployed.
The coffee region extends over a substantial part of the state of Bahia that had traditionally grown coffee on a small scale. In the mid 1960s, Bahia started to expand its coffee business. The feeder roads were an essential part of this strategy.
Cocoa was traditionally one of the most important agricultural products of the state, but the market was hindered by poor roads. Cocoa trees in the state are mostly in a tropical forest region subject to heavy precipitation, making road construction and maintenance expensive. Cocoa is environmentally friendly, as it coexists well with the forest cover.
The dairy region is located in southern Bahia. Before the feeder road program, only four wheeldrive vehicles could access the existing tracks, and then only during the dry season.
Economic Impact
The improved roads helped expand production of coffee and cacao, especially when they were first completed. Farmers were able to market their products more easily and to bring in machinery and other modern inputs. Later, a severe drop in the world market price of these two crops discouraged production output.
Production of dairy produce was also affected by a drop in prices, but to a lesser extent. The improved roads allowed the cocoa and the coffee regions to respond to the collapse in their primary commodities by diversifying production and moving into nonagricultural activities.
Social Impact
One important impact was the change in land tenure: the proportion of small landholders increased significantly in all three regions. Other indicators showing significant improvement were the availability of hospital beds per inhabitant and school attendance by school-age children. Yet, because of the lack of control roads, the extent to which these changes could be attributed to the roads is uncertain.
Traffic Impact
Overall, traffic on the roads increased substantially, although it remained below original forecasts. Traffic increased from 20 to 40 vehicles per day on most roads in the late 1970s to 100 vehicles per day in 1996 in 12 of the 20 roads in the sample. The roads with the higher traffic levels were those that became integrated with the state road networks and that were more important for longdistance travel.
Environmental Impact
Because road improvement work generally followed existing tracks, the environmental impact of road construction was minor and occurred mainly in the cocoa region. This was because of conditions that led to erosion. However, deforestation was common in all three regions.
Economic Analysis and Beneficiaries
Lack of agricultural output data and prices made it impossible to produce the economic analysis at appraisal, based on induced agricultural production. Instead, the study calculated a benefitcost ratio based on 1996 traffic and on vehicleoperating cost savings. Twelve of 20 roads had a satisfactory benefit-cost ratio.
The initial beneficiaries were the large agricultural producers. The road improvements also helped improve standards of living and access to social services. All interviewees in the dairy region thought that the improved roads brought positive benefits; only three-quarters thought so in the cocoa region.
Sustainability
Some 10–15 years after the improvements were completed most of the roads were still in fair to good condition. About a quarter were in poor condition. Funding for highway maintenance generally has suffered during the devolution of responsibilities from the federal to the state governments in the 1990s. Liberalization and growth-oriented policies over the past 10 years should help make the economic and social impacts sustainable.
Recommendations
The study makes the following recommendations: - Feeder road planning could be improved by considering clusters or mini-networks of roads fitting into a state and regional development strategy and by considering social impacts in addition to economic benefits.
- Environmental assessment and mitigation measures should be launched at the roadplanning stage.
- Beneficiaries, including the private sector, should be involved in the process of funding and managing maintenance of rural roads.
- A simple monitoring system, including periodic traffic counting and a few selected social indicators, should be set up to facilitate evaluation of the road investments.
- Research on the benefits from avoidance of road closures should be undertaken by a Brazilian research center.
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