2.2. Role of Intermediate Means of Transport in Agriculture

Intermediate Means of Transport or IMTs includes wheelbarrows, bicycles, rickshaws, various animal carts and wagons, motorcycles, motorized three-wheelers, and two-wheel tractors that fill the gap between more expensive motor vehicles and tedious human effort. Intermediate means of transport IMTs can play a useful role in agricultural marketing. Walking, the dominant mode of on-farm transport, can restrict any increase in agricultural production. IMT can improve the efficiency of on-farm agricultural transports by reducing transport costs and time. The effects on agricultural production can be manifold:

♤ Cultivation of bigger areas

♤ Utilization of more fertile, but remote, soils

♤ Production of heavier corps

♤ Increased utilization of fertilizer and manure

♤ Reduced pest damage and spoilage at crop harvest time

♤ Reduction of transport time, partly used for income generation

♤ Reduced effort and drudgery involved in human porterage

♤ Spill-over effects if animals are used for ploughing and transport

Thus, IMT enable the farmers to respond better to markets by augmenting or changing their production. Additionally, they reduce losses, save transport costs and time. If markets are within walking distance then head loading is important. Transport efficiency can be significantly increased by improvement of footpaths or the use of IMT. If markets are more than half a day's non-motorized travel, a multimodal transport system is a cost-effective solution. Trucks are unbeatable on long distances, good roads and fully loaded, and IMT operate more efficiently on short distances with small loads and on bad roads making a multimodal approach the best solution for rural transport problems.