APPROPRIATE NONAUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY URGED FOR RURAL NEEDS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

This paper reviews the recent policy approach to the "rural transport problem" in developing countries, and it contains opinions of how that policy should be changed. The basic approach to the problem has been providing or improving the quality of access which has meant almost exclusively road access. Past road investments have favored construction or improvement of major rural highways rather than urban or minor rural roads. The generally accepted design standards for highways in developing countries recommend essentially U.S. Standards, which results in a lavish system to accomodate sophisticated vehicles that the average rural dweller does not have and cannot afford. A study of 93 developing countries showed that, in 1968, the average vehicle ownership was only 9.2 per 1,000, and it is expected to rise to only 11.8 by 1980. The result of this policy is skeletal road networks that plainly do not serve effectively the majority of the population, and vehicles so expensive that they are beyond the means of all but the most affluent. In this paper, it is recommended that simpler and cheaper vehicles might be appropriate for rural societies. Slower and lighter vehicles would allow the alignment, strength, and width of roads to be reduced, which would result in a considerable saving in costs. Six categories of basic vehicles for rural areas of developing countries were defined: aids to carrying loads on the head, shoulders, and back; handcarts and wheelbarrows; pedal-driven vehicles; animal transport; motorcycles; and basic motorized vehicles.