The World Bank’s Africa Gender Innovation Lab (GIL) and the World Bank's Global Practice Finance, Innovation and Competitiveness partnered with the Mozambique Integrated Growth Poles Project (IGPP) to assess the impact of the rehabilitation of two feeder roads in Tete province on household welfare. The region is characterized by high agricultural potential growth but suffers from weak market linkages, which could be improved through upgraded market access roads. After the IGPP’s technical and economic assessment, the roads R604 and R605 crossing Angonia, Tsangano, Chiuta, Macanga districts were given priority for the investment and rehabilitation. From October 2017 to July 2019, a total of 104 km of road R605 and 104 km of road R604 were rehabilitated, including the sealing of 32 and 26 kilometers of paved roads respectively. The maintenance works by the contractor continued on the two roads to maintain all weather road access up until April 2020.
The IGPP was a 6-year World Bank financed project (Cr 5237-MZ) amounting to SDR 66,100,000 (US$100 million equivalent), on April 25, 2013 and became effective on August 23, 2013. It lasted until April 2020.
The impact assessment on the effects of the roads rehabilitation included three data collections from 2016 to 2019. The baseline survey was conducted from April to June 2016 on a sample of about 3,000 households in 150 rural communities (~20 households per community). Half of the sample is located along the two roads rehabilitated under the IGPP (R604 and R605), and the other half along two other roads that were not rehabilitated (N302 and R603).
Two survey instruments were designed to capture socioeconomic and agricultural outcomes: a household questionnaire and a community questionnaire. The household questionnaire collected information on (i) agricultural production and sales, crop choices, input usage, and farming practices; (ii) employment including off-farm; (iii) noncognitive skills; (iv) women empowerment and intra-household bargaining; (v) household and farm assets; (vi) household shocks; (vii) household and farm assets; and (viii) consumption. The community questionnaire focused on village-level crop prices and access to services and infrastructures.
The information gathered from the survey would generally aid decision makers in the formulation of economic and social policies to:
- Construct models to simulate the impact on individual groups of the various policy options and to analyze the impact of decisions that have already been implemented and of the economic situation on living conditions of households
- To provide benchmark data for the district assemblies
The survey can be important for planners to know how to improve the quality of people's living standards. The Minister of Economy and Finance, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Minister of Land and Environment of the Government of Mozambique would benefit from the data of this survey. District Authorities, Research Institutions, Non-Governmental Organizations and the general public will also greatly benefit from data of this survey.