Freight subsidy planned

Reports by HELEN TARAWA
The Department of Transport has developed a freight subsidy framework that will support rural communities to transport their produce.
This was revealed in a report by the Consultative Implementation and Monitoring Council after an agriculture sectoral committee meeting in June.
The framework was developed by the Departments of Transport and National Planning and Monitoring.
The sectoral committee had expressed concerns about transport being a constraint on production of agriculture development.
Committee members pointed out that there were no efficient transport system for transporting crops/livestock’s from farm gates to market.
It was also found that the high freight cost was the result of inconsistent quality and quantity of fresh produce and other commodity crops in a timely supply to the market.
The committee recommended that mechanisms be put in place to guard against cost inflation and feeder roads be built as part of rehabilitation package for major road projects to benefit directly residents living adjacent to project roads.
The report said in terms of transport policy,  maintenance was priority and if a road was cut off, then the transport policy was not working.
The report also stated that roads were rehabilitated with priority being given to emergency roads, followed by road maintenance then other new roads.
The department highlighted that as roads and sea transport became the link between agricultural sites and markets, the national transport strategy (NTS) aligned with medium-term development plan and development strategic plan set targets of 95 per cent of potentially developed agricultural land with road or water access by 2030.