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Part B - Planing and design activities
This is the core of the manual and is based on the stages of project design described in Part A. It proceeds from project identification through to implementation. With a simple project these stages may not need to be rigidly separated, but with a more complex project the structure will help to clarify the process of project development. Within each stage the other aspects of the design process are also reflected: the design levels, functions and activities. The section does not go into much detail, but defines what should be broadly achieved at each of the design stages and what are likely to arise as key concerns and problems. In order to avoid repetition there is cross-referencing to the technical appendices in Part D.
An important issue that needs to be mentioned before describing the details of project formulation is that the process is likely to be lengthy. It can often take 6 8 years from reviewing the need for a new market to its occupation. To undertake any of this work requires that staff are identified to be involved with the project formulation and that a separate advance budget is available for the funding of design studies and surveys.
Figure 5 Stage I - Project Identification and Pre-feasibility
3. Project identification and pre-feasibility
The first stage in project preparation is to undertake an identification and pre-feasibility study. The purpose of this is to identify if there are problems with the existing marketing system which might be solved by a planning and infrastructure project. An initial analysis should be made of facilities and accommodation requirements, alternative site development scenarios should be considered and an outline master plan and action programme prepared. A flow chart illustrating the overall process is represented in Figure 5.
Project context and data collection
Unless full records have been kept by a market authority it is usual to start any study of existing or proposed markets with virtually no information. A thorough review of all available background data will therefore need to be made. Information will be required on the general planning context, the levels of agricultural production, marketing channels and the existing consumption of fruits and vegetables and, if applicable, poultry, fish and livestock. This will be largely a desk study, assembling information from published sources. Information sources will include the following:
· national marketing and agricultural policies and strategies, contained in government sectoral plans (typically from a ministry of agriculture) and district reports;
· records of previous and current development activities and existing commitments, compiled by planning and public works departments;
. local and regional demographic and planning studies, including those undertaken by consultants and universities;
· official maps and air photos; and
· legislation and regulations on the institutional and legal framework for markets, including public health and safety regulations.
A site visit to both existing markets and production areas will also be necessary to get a feel for the present conditions. Techniques such as "rapid rural appraisal", using the experience of multi-disciplinary teams (described in Chapter 11), will help to establish information on conditions as efficiently as possible. It is important to visit markets during peak trading periods and not just during government working hours.
Reviewing and analysing data collected on the general institutional and management context and on the existing site conditions and facilities should allow the overall shortcomings of the present system to be identified. The types of analysis that can be attempted will be limited by the availability of data, but should include, at least, a description of the existing market channels and an overall idea of the volume of trade that is passing through an existing market or might pass through a proposed market. Techniques for data analysis arc contained in Chapter 12.
Typical problems. The typical problems that might be identified at this stage include economic and institutional problems, such as the existence of monopolies and unfair trading practices, financial constraints, inadequate market management and lack of staff training. Other problems might include seasonality of demand and lack of storage space, high produce losses and other costs associated with physical constraints, such as, poor infrastructure, inadequate space in relation to through-put, traffic congestion and lack of modern equipment.
With an existing market the major problem will be whether to relocate the market and, if so, whether the existing market should also be retained. It does not always follow that one market per city is necessarily the optimum solution, particularly for those with high-density centres.
Definition of project goals and beneficiaries. On the basis of the problems that have been identified with the existing marketing system an attempt should then be made to define the project's goals and the likely beneficiaries. At this stage this will tend to be a very simple statement of national or regional policy. A typical example might be as follows: to improve marketing facilities so that producers of fruits and vegetables in area "x" can obtain a ready market for increased horticultural production and a wider range of fruits and vegetables, in greater quantities and al competitive prices, can be available to consumers in city "y".
Alternatively, the project-goals could be specified in terms of the benefits that might accrue to a particular market authority by, for example, improved efficiency gained from the upgrading of present facilities or additional revenues created from the development of a new market.
The next step will be to formulate an overall programme which will meet the project's goals and solve the problems that have been identified. Simple methods for making projections of space requirements are discussed in Chapters 4 and 13. The main difficulty at this stage will be how to match any budget limits against the physical facilities that might be needed to improve the marketing situation. Although probably only limited survey data is available it is necessary to define a simple procedure that can help to conceptualism the problems. This can be refined later when further surveys are undertaken.
Physical requirements. A first approximation of the physical requirements and budget costs for the development should always be attempted, as this will form a basis for discussion with all the interested parties. It may not be possible to prepare even a diagrammatic layout at this stage. The basic design parameters on which the projections should be based do not need to imply any preconceived notion about the spatial organization of a market. They should assume, however, that the market would be a modern facility, organized with minimum obstructions in the system and a maximum grouping of functions. It is likely to bear very little relation, therefore, to a traditional market. Different approaches should be adopted for secondary wholesale markets than that for terminal urban wholesale markets.
Terminal wholesale markets. The fundamental issue to address with a terminal wholesale market will be whether an existing site is suitable and the degree to which outside planning forces should be allowed to influence any decision to relocate to a new site. Basic estimates of demand and trade volumes arc essential at an early stage in order that sensible decisions can be made about whether the existing market site and size are adequate, particularly if institutional and traffic management improvements could be made which might allow it to remain at its present location. These estimates will be tentative and need to be adjusted later when more reliable survey data on consumption patterns becomes available. The location factors that should be considered in the selection of a new market site are discussed in Chapter 13. Critical to this selection process is that a new site is chosen in consultation with all interested parties.
Secondary wholesale markets. Improvements to secondary wholesale markets, particularly those serving large hinterlands, may be similar in nature to those for terminal markets. Often, however, they are part of a programme for changes to a network of local assembly markets and collection centres. The programmes are frequently based on the development of packages of facilities for each market, the range of facilities provided being based on the overall site area of the market yards. There are major limitations to using this approach as the sole criterion as it is often an arbitrary figure, based on historical events, not necessarily reflecting the present level of economic activity. It is important not to over-simplify the problem and ignore other criteria which may be more reliable indicators.
A crude ranking system can be evolved which compares the existing physical conditions of the markets to a list of "basic needs". This approach assumes that the first priority of a market development plan will be to make up the deficiency in the present provision, rather than impose a standardized package of improvements. Almost invariably this will mean that the main part of any budget should be allocated to the provision of key infrastructure, particularly roads and paving, including off-site facilities, rather than to the construction of new buildings.
At this early stage in design there will probably not be sufficient information to undertake even a preliminary financial analysis. The project will have to be evaluated on the basis of its overall global impact.
Project Impact. A project's major impact is likely to be on the system of marketing of fruits and vegetables. It may lead to higher production and more stable consumer prices. The potential benefits are, therefore, to producers and consumers. It is usually possible to accurately define the target beneficiaries of a project, based on production and demographic data.
Other aspects of a project's impact should also be identified. A typical impact would be a significant reduction in produce losses and an efficiently operating market for both producers and traders. This will serve to reduce marketing costs which will ultimately benefit consumers. On a broader front, by incorporating the development of a market information system a project may have an influence on the overall price mechanism, which might have a national impact on marketing efficiencies. The effect of a project on any possible private enterprise efforts in market development should be assessed to see whether it would deter or encourage these initiatives. A negative effect could be unnecessary competition for private markets, while a positive effect would be the growth of smallscale traders and wholesalers.
Project benefits. It is important in assessing a project's impact to be clear how benefits might arise. The mere provision of new or improved physical facilities will not guarantee any benefits, if not accompanied by appropriate institutional and management changes. In many cases, the operating performance of markets can be improved with virtually no physical change, other than, possibly, the provision of new equipment or the application of a traffic management scheme.
Project risks. Risks which could influence the overall design of a project need to be identified at this stage. These risks should to be described, and an estimate made of their probability (high, medium or low) and whether they are of a short or medium-term nature, or are long- term strategic problems.
A typical short-term risk is that agreement has not been reached on the market's institutional framework and management method, including the establishment of a project advisory committee or management board. This may lead to potential delays in the appointment of consultants to undertake surveys and feasibility studies and to prepare detailed designs and tender documents. Other common problems are that action is delayed because of difficulties in purchasing suitable land and that the source of funding or loans is not clarified. The subject of risks is discussed further in Chapter 5.
Where an existing market is to be improved or extended, problems may also arise if it is not possible for the construction operations at the market site to be phased in a way that enables the market to continue to operate during the construction period.
The definition of project risks will provide the basis for clarifying the issues that will need to be resolved before progress can be made with project development. The intention should be that, before proceeding further, the risks are either eliminated or arc reduced .The typical types of issues that will need to be resolved arc:
- management and institutional;
- financial and loan requirements; and
- provision of land.
Initial surveys to be undertaken. The main conclusion that will be drawn at the end of the project identification stage is almost certainly that the collection of further data will be required. In order to refine the preliminary estimates of throughput, data will need to be collected on the number and size of existing markets, their daily trading patterns and the variations in trade between seasons, both in terms of the type of produce and the quantities marketed.
Ideally data should be available before any further detailed design development occurs, but the timing of surveys will also be influenced by factors such as the need to collect data during peak production seasons or to avoid logistic problems caused by working in a wet season. It is essential, however, that design should be based on adequate data and it will be necessary, if they have not already been undcrtakcn, to carry out surveys of:
· volumes and types of produce transacted at different times in the year;
· surveys of traders and market channels;
· traffic modes and volumes; and
· investigations of a site's engineering and physical characteristics.
Further details of survey methodologies and typical examples of survey pro-forma sheets are given in Chapter 11.
