From foodline to lifeline : rural roads in Morocco

- N LUNIBER 119 OE1 PrecisE Operations Evaluation Department June 1996 From Foodline to Lifeline: Rural Roads in Morocco A recenit OED evaluation* examnined ruiral road monitoring systemii-taint Chefchaouen (Route 603), one in the imipact of a riiral roatds component cant help Morocco andit othier countries Settat (Route 1427), and two in iticlud1ed1 in Morocco's Fouirthi Highway enliance the value of rural roatds invest- Tensift (routes 6307 and 6308). The Project, begunii in the ,nidi-1980s. The eticit andit thle siustainability of regiolnal evaluation focused on these roads stl/tl/ souighit to tetermtinle the broader developmnent, because of their diverse economic imnpacts that emlitaite frotit imiproving functions and because of the re- and paving ruiral roads antd utniderstanid Targeting the poor through gions' different rainfall/soil condi- how thzey filter beyonzd the phiysical in- road schemes tions and economic characteristics. vestinent to thle agricuiltuiral economny (See box on methodology.) andt social sectors. The evaluation Despite sustained urbanization brings to lighit the problem of attriblit- through the 1980s and 1990s, about The road improvements wvere ing project benefits when a niluiber of 50 percent of Morocco's population expected to have an impact in four factors are at pla,-better roais, gov- remains rural. Rural inhabitants areas: transport infrastructure and erninenit prograns, nezt facilities. A have benefited less than urban services, the agricultural economy, comiparison of thzc imiproved areas with dwellers from the country's recent social sectors such as health and control nonesZOS helped clarify the impacts economic growvth. As a result, more education, and the environment. attributable to the roads themnselves. than 70 percent of Morocco's poor Impacts were not identical in all live in rural areas. regions, though some were felt The evaluiatioln foun11d thant better across the board. The unexpected roads IC' to loZecr 'e'h1iClt' operatinlg The government has increasinglx and positive impact on women and costs, resulting> in less eXpellSive pullbliC sOUght ways to red Ice rural pov- girls in particular merits special trnsisport, basic houschold goods, and ertv. The current five-year plan to menition. agricultural inputs. Thie lower cost of improve 10,000 kilometers of rural ilplts, coninlined woith ycear-round oper- roads through the vear 2000 forms Tran1sp)ort infrastru-cture ad service-s al'ilitt/ of roads nld expanled goveern- part of its broader strategy to im- nIenlt ext enisioil cfforts, in tutrni sti?inu- prove the welfare of the rural popu- All fouLr roads were improved Inted. a tinore efficient andt profitable lation. The WVorld Bank is expected from deteriorated gravel or agricitlti ral Lcononzl/. The dclivertrl of to finance part of this effort. unengineered track to asphalt, buitanie, now niore affordable, rediticed mostly four meters wide. anlld in some casts elniinated the two to The project had many three hourS rural Moroccan woleon positive impacts Vith tIlh iulnprovCd road ls openl to spoelt di il,/ collecting fuelwood. Edu ica- traffic .1e7r-round, the. niost idirect il- tionIal enrollmnent grew substantially, The Fou rtlh Highwvay Project's Cspecianlt for girls, anlld project-area rural roads component sought to residents visited health professionals improve ten roads spread through- *Iinpact evaluationi report, mnore regularly, as the roads improved out Morocco. The roads averaged "Morocco-Socioeconoinic IJ- access and set off changes suchi as thle 30-50 km in length, with traffic vol- pact of Rural Roads," forthcom- construiction of neu schrools. Thle imn- umes generally below 100 vehicles itng, June 1996, by Herndn Levy pact ont thle environment was mixed, per dav. The study analyzed four of and Claudine Voyadzis. Precis hoLever, The evaluation derives les- the improved roads, located in three zoritten by A. Gentile-Blackwell. sois-s-uchi as the uteed to establish a different regions-one in Larache/  cases, the time needed to reach value-added per unit of cultivated Methodology county and village administrative land rose. offices, agricultural extension per- Though a 1989 consultant's re- sonnel, health centers, and rural The use of modern agricultural port recommended the estabLish- markets was halved. This improve- inputs-wvhich grewv as improv ed ( ment of a system for monitoring ment wvas a result of both better transport made distribution chan- . the impact of rural roads, and in- roads and new facilities, whose nels better-wvas a key factor in im- cluded some 40 indicators, the sys- construction xvas made possible in proving the agricultural economy. tem was not implemented. This part by the roads. Fertilizer use in particular leapt bv ' was because government authori- more than 60 percent in two of the ties had strong doubts that the cost Enhancement of the phvsical three project areas. Small farmers of setting up and maintaining such Enhancemeture, complemented bv rue ojectural sion ser- a comprehensive system would infrastructure, complemented by use of agricultural extension ser- bring commensurate benefits. local and government efforts, led vices, now within easy reach, in- to widespread improvnements in creased more than fourfold during For each project road, the study the agricultural economy and so- the study period. therefore chose as a control a cial sectors. nearby road that had not been im- These improvements in turn led proved during the study period. Agricutltuzral econiomtiy to changes in off-farm employment Socioeconornic data for the project and the number of new businesses. and control roads were collected Nlost agricultural lands in Mo- Off-farm employment, as a result of mainly through surveys at the rocco are rainfed. Onlv about 12 improved husbandry and mechani- household and village levels, and percent of the cultivable land is ir- zation, grew sixfold in the project at the provincial level for public rigated. The potential for expand- areas (compared with threefold in works and local level for agricul- ing irrigation is limited, and lands the control zones). Though there is ture. The information was used to of marginal value for agriculture no clear overall impact wvhen all compare current conditions with are already being cultivated. Thus, three regions are considered, Settat those before the investments and increasing the efficiencv of land- registered a marked rise in the to compare conditions of the im- to comare conditihons of the - use is essential to the development number of newv shops; the most pontrov roads. with those ofthe of Nloroccan agriculture. striking gain was in the number of kiosks in the weeklv market-from The roadt projects transformed the 10 in 1985 to more than 500 now. agricultural econonit in the areas they pact zcas the elimination of frequent sereed. In the past, farmers' access Agricultural practices in the con- road closiures duirintg rain iy periods. to markets *vas difficult and expen- trol zones todav are essentiallv the sive. With the lower-cost transport same as thev wvere a decade ago. Road users also saved tinme andl. and vear-round operabilitv of Relativelv low-value cereal cultiva- Mone 'i/. The cost of operating ye- road.s, however, markets became tio n accounts for more than 90 per- hicles dropped because they sus- accessible and roads reliable. Per- cent of tillable land. tained less wear and tear on an ishability of produce wvas no longer even, asphalt surface. Larger, more a concern, and farmers shifted pro- Social impact efficient trucks could now use the ductioni to high-value fruit or- roads. As a result, the cost of freight chards and vegetables. The shift In the past, rural health facilities, and passenger services fell. A focus Was enabled in part by the delivery where they existed, had difficulty group (a dialogue with a group of of irrigation equipment-such as recruiting and retaining profes- area residenits) for routes 6307 and wells and puimps-and improved sional staff because of their isolated 6308 said, for example, that the cost seeds. Yields for the main crops location. The result was erratic de- of shipping a truckload of merchan- (fruit trees, cereals, and vegetables) livery of service. When facilities dise-betwveen Amizmis and Assif increased in all project zones, with wvere not available, rural residents Al MIal county, ten km apart-went fruit orchards registering the high- had to travel far-and often with dowvn from 300 Dh to 150 D'h. The est gains-a 31 percent jumnp in difficulty because of inadequate supply of passenger services in- output from 1985-95. transport services-to see a doctor creased substantially, especially or nurse. Either wav, rural inhabit- share-ride taxis, a very popular Following the trend to invest in ants did not see a health profes- form of transport in rural Morocco. high-profit goods, farmers' invest- sional very often, usually only once In the past, the only service was ment in purebred livestock shot up a year, and not for preventive provided by rural buses running as by 150 percent, while in every health care. little as once a day. other class of livestock, invest- merits decreased. As a result of the Visits bk/ project beneficiaries to Travel time to markets and social shift to higher-value products, and hl.elatlt Lcare falilities (hospital and pmr- services fell drasticallv. In some the overall increase in y ields, the InariI care) 1earli, douNled, thanks to "  the inmproved roards andl governmnent a part. The number of primary on the cooperatives. In exchange efforts. More professionals were schools and satellite classes in- they received a share of the revenues wvilling to wvork in areas that were creased, as a paved road is a key from milk sales, thus increasing their no longer isolated. The improved criterion for the construction of pri- participation in Morocco's formal roads made it easier to deliver marv schools in rural areas. The economv. This is an important im- medicine, leading to higher-quality supply of materials-such as pota- pact, given women's lowv participa- service. At the same time, the gov- ble water, often transported by the tion in the monetized economv. ernment, under its social develop- teacher with a hand-cart-needed ment strategy to extend basic social for teaching, maintenance, and day- Env irownental inpact services to the poor, launched a to-dav operations also improved. campaign to establish new facilities Changes ini transport conditions and and to staff rural health centers Gender imnpact in the overall econoinll had bothl negative w ith doctors. Immunization, family andl positive inrpacts on the environ- planning, and other health preven- Girls' prirl/nl school enrollmnent in- nient. The roadwork itself did not tion programs became easier to creased t dramtaticallyl-reaching 54 per- involve any new construction and implement w'ith the existence of cent in 1995, more than three times presented no risk to environmentally permanent health personnel. the level in 1985. What makes the sensitive areas. Rather, negative im- gains especially impressive is that pacts resulted from increased traffic One of the main benefits of the rural parents had generally preferred and economic activity-that is, air project and government efforts in for girls to stay home to help with and noise pollution and road acci- the Chefchaouen area was that a household chores. Parents also feared dents-and increased use of fertihz- doctor and several nurses now for their daughters' safety when ers and chemicals, which may have staffed each of its three health cen- tracks and roads were unpaved contaminated the water table. ters. Each center also had an ambu- and distances long and difficult to lance to transport patients to the traverse. Focus groups conducted by While overall levels of traffic in- hospital. Pregnant women, who OED cited this as an important rea- creased, the improved roads led to were taken to the hospital by mule son for not sending girls to school. more fuel-efficient and quieter ve- in the past, especially benefited. With the roads paved and enrollment hicles and reduced dust pollution. rates up substantially, this anecdotal Positive impacts also resulted from Rlural dwoellers in the project zones finding gains credence. But focus the transformation in the agricultural clhangedi their dietary lhabits. Focus groups also attributed the higher at- economy. Notably, farmers curtailed groups in Chefchaouen reported tendance rates to the new primary the extensive goat and sheep herding that they rarely ate fish in the past, schools and satellite classrooms, that damaged the soil cover. In addi- but did so now at least once a tion, butane, now w idelv available at month. Consumption of fresh veg- Sonme women had mnuch mnorefree low cost, substituted for fuelwood, etables and fruit increased as well. time. Before roads were improved, the demand for wvhich exceeds the Better roads and year-round oper- wvomen normallv spent two to three level Morocco's forests can sustain. ability made the delivery of these hours a day collecting fuelwood for highly perishable foods possible. heating and cooking. The enhanced CalcUlationl, distril'Ution, and roads made the delivery of butane Sllstailal7illtY of enIefits School enrollnient rates made an more affordable and thus reduced or inmpressive leap. In all three areas eliminated women's need to collect Econoinmic returns for all project roads combined, the 1995 primarv school wvood. This freed up a substantial .ere satisfactory, ranging from 16 to enrollment rate reached 68 percent, block of time each dav that they 30 percent. (The returns were calcu- compared with 28 percent in 1985. could devote to other needs and in- lateci based on the difference in cost While enrollment in the control terests. Mechanization also provided of operating vehicles on1 improved zones also grewv, the rate of im- women who previously helped in and unimproved roads. The benefits provement was lowver than that of the wheat fields with more free time. derived from avoiding road closures the project areas. The expansion of taxi services, in were also considered.) Even under a turn, enabled these women, who worst-case scenario-combining What accounts for this change? now had more leisure time, to visit lowver traffic levels wvith higher ve- The enhanced roads made the re- relatives in nearbv villages and1 cities hicle operating costs-the returns mote schools more attractive to more frequenAtlv. would have been acceptable. Social higlher-quality teachers, and the and environmental impacts, nor- caliber of education improved as a Others had nt7ew work opportunities. mally considered intangible, wvere result. With roads open year- The milk cooperatives that sprang up not quantified in economic terms. round, and transport more readily in parts of Tensift as a result of the Lack of data also precluded quantifi- available, absenteeism of both paved roads required more labor to cation of benefits to pedestrians and teachers and students dropped. take care of the cowvs. Mtunicipal pro- to users of nonmotorized vehicles, Physical improvements also played grams encouraged women to work such as carts and bicycles. OED Prtcis  Eco,zonnic benefits accruiedt directly to equate budgetarv allocations for establishment, for example, of local users of t?iotorized passenger antd freighlt maintenance countrywide raise un- "road boards." (Such boards, com- velhicles. For farrners, the primarv certaintv about the sustainabilitv of posed of stakeholders and govern- benefits arose from expanded use the road's long-term benefits. ment officials, -would be empow- of commercial freight services and zered to make decisions on allocation f from year-round operability of Recommendations for future of maintenance fuinds.) roads. Both of these allowed farmers rural road projects to produce the more profitable fruits * CoorLii ui te locail gov'ern mnzent activ'i- and vegetables. While these benefits * Establislh a practical ruiral road mnonzi- ties witht roadt enhancette,it activ ities. are significant, farmners wvould have toring silstem. The program to im- The synergies between road im- likely derived even greater advan- prove 10,000 kms of rural roads provement and government initia- tage had Morocco's road freight could incorporate a simple but effec- tives, particularly with regard to transport market been less regulated tive monitoring system-for a construction of new schools and and more competitive. The rural sample of roads-that wvould desig- health facilities, should be encour- population in general benefited from nate a small number of road, agricul- aged to enhance the impact of affordable, frequent public transport, tural, environmental, and social projects. This could be done by lower household expenses due to sector indicators. Local-level sectoral coordinating exchanges at the lower shipping costs, and savings in authorities could collect data from project planning stage to ensure vehicle operating costs. indicators every two to three years. that all local-level activities take The collection of agricultural and so- the extent and timing of roadwork Will beniefits be suistain1ed? Over cial indicators could be integrated in into account. long periods, traffic on Morocco's the annual sector surveys. The sys- paved roads has grown steadily, tem could also arrange for local au- * The number of road-related acci- even during drought years when thorities, ideally wvith university dents and fatalities increased along agricultural production was down. assistance, to compile and dissemi- the improved roads, according to The transformed and improved agri- nate a report for each selected road. anecdotal information. On a smooth cultural economy is based on sound surface, vehicles tend to move business decisions. Beneficiaries and . Mtlticriteria indiicators may help faster. Pedestrians, on the other government place a high value on ideiztifil and evaltuate rural road projects hand, do not change their habits. improved, and improving, social ser- ini areas zwhzere economtic beniefits are hard Flutuire rural road, projects sh1ou7ld conI- vices. These factors suggest that the to measure. Traditional means of allo- sidter cost-effective miieasulres-suichi as project's transport, agricultural, and cating funds and evaluating road ediucationi camizpaignis andzn roadi signls- social benefits are likely to be sus- projects may overlook important so- to prevenit or reduiice the likely increase tained It is important to note, how- cial factors, particularlv when traffic in road-related accidenits antd fatalities. ever, that gains in agriculture also levels are low. In such circumstances, depend on government trade and an economic return calculated on a * Paving was not necessarilv the fiscal policies, as well as on access to road being considered for improve- most cost-efficient solution. Reha- European markets. ment might not appear acceptable- bilitating roads to a well-main- but the road could have a large tained gravel surface, for example, Inadequate budgetary resources population that wvould greatly ben- Would have cost less and perhaps for road maintenance have been a efit from the project. Or an area yielded higher returns. Road width perennial problem in Mlorocco, how- might have a school to which more is also an issue. Current thinking in ever. At issue is funding allocation- childtren Would have access with an Morocco's Ministry of Public WVorks that is, whether funds are allocated improved road. Thcgovernient llligllt Would appear to favor pavements to the roads and tvpes of mainte- clsi.,der allocatin\ a s 7 all percetta\'e of at least six meters wide, regardless nance with the highest pavoff. Of tlhe ruiral roads budget (20 perceit is of traffic levels. This contlicts with immediate concern is Route 603. good) to sutchl cases, based on? well-dc- the studv's finding that four-meter Seven years after completion of finedl mnlticriteria indicators and attabi- pavements can be cost-effective for works, and following unexpectedly ImILeIt of social objectives rathler tha1711 on low levels of traffic. Fuitiure, projects high levels of traffic, the road is in econolotic retuirnis, shul reaz'Sed > the i otnial pata leelt poor condition. (The condition of the cidtlh for r rual road;s a1mid con1717ae wt ithI other roads is good.) While the road * I!ncrcatSe, local cotm itti pmtrticipla?- rIClhallilitatioil to) (7 a we1-m11ainltainIe is scheduled for resurfacing under tio)m in road.s Communities could be IavelTi surface. The latest version of the Ministry of Public Work's 1994- involved in the allocation of money the Bank's Highway Design Mlodel 98 maintenance program, inad- for road maintenance, through the allows for such analysis. I OED PrJcij is produced by the Operations Evaluation Department of the World Bank to help din,emmtnate recent evaluation1 tindings to development professionals within and outside the World Bank The views here are those of the Operations Evaluation staff and should not be attributed to the World Bank or its affiliated organizations. Please address comments and enquiries to the nanaging editor, Rachel I Weaving, G-7137, World Bank, telephone 473-1719. Interiet: rweavingCu orldbank.org Jlunle 1996