103. The need to identify appropriate products for rural development would lead to the determination of the engineering

101. The outlook of appropriate products for rural development shows a great demand in developing countries. Some of this demand is being catered to by the exports from advanced developed countries without much consideration for the actual need of appropriate products for the developing countries. Therefore, Government policy in each country must define and spell out the

appropriate LCTE for rural development.

102. In general terms, however, considering the present situation and facilities available in the subregional countries it is recommended that bullock carts, push-push, wheel barrows, bicycles, two wheelers and three wheelers of 50-200 cc engine capacity and mopeds be manufactured on sub-regional basis.

5.2.2.: Need to determine the current capabilities for local

production

103. The need to identify appropriate products for rural development would lead to the determination of the engineering establishments level of that particular region. It is therefore suggested to examine carefully the overall engineering establishments in each developing country before identification of

appropriate products.

104. It helps, depending on the existing production level of a determined country, to asses:

The type of production equipment used.

Technical know-how of the workers.

Situation of spare parts.

- Supply of raw materials.

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v - Adequate prototype support.

105. In sum, it gives an overall evaluation of the current situation of engineering facilities in the country.

5.2.3.: Availability of raw materials

106. The availability of raw materials has often been cited as the main problem facing the ATI and LCTE industries and indeed other industries in the continent. Indeed, capacity under utilization has often be attributed to the shortage of raw materials. However, as state in section 5.2.9, good planning, adequate networking and applying technology that requires readily available materials can alleviate this problem.

107. In situations where the raw materials have to be imported, subregional and regional sources should be explored first before the more traditional overseas trading partners are contacted. In the context of ATIs and LCTE, that use steel as the basic raw material, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana, Nigeria

could be explored as possible sources within the continent.

108. Central purchasing could be one of the methods to avail raw materials at any one time at a reasonable price to secure continuous production flow of products in the plants.

5.2.4.: Need for an integrated approach for the manufacture of ATI and Low-cost Transport Equipment.

109. A dynamic development strategy with the view to integrating the manufacturing activities of agricultural tools and implements and low-cost transport equipment will in the long run permit African countries to streamline and market these equipment in an efficient way. This strategy will minimize the duplication of enterprises that perform essentially the same manufacturing functions. Scarce resources will be concentrated in production units that are efficient.

110. Furthermore, the decision to implement the production of LCTE and ATI in the region can accelerate the development of an integrated approach with maximum usage of forward and backward linkages in manufacturing industries, agriculture, transport, infrastructure and also manufacturing process within firms.

5.2.5.: Promotion of integrated of small-scale polyvalent units:

111. The polyvalent production unit approach, though conceptually appealing, is not necessarily easy to implement. Polyvalent manufacturing requires the development not only at multi-production

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plants but also the establishment and/or co-ordination of a range

of groups of industries, products and processes. The benefits of the approach is that it requires a careful matching of what

products are to be manufactured and what technology is to be used.

Products which are similar to produce should be chosen so that many

different short production runs amount to a long production run

with resulting cost savings. Production should be based on plants

which use only a few technological processes but which are flexible

enough to permit the manufacture of several products.

112. The Agricultural Tools, Implements and Low-Cost Transport

Equipment industry has forward and backward linkages with other sectors of the economy. It has a backward linkage with the industrial sector for example, the metal working and metallurgical industries which supplies inputs to be used in the production of agricultural machinery. These linkages also extend to existing infrastructure such as roads, transport and financial systems.

5.2.6.: Product standardization and Maintenance services

113. Products are generally standardized according to the length,

width, gauges volumes and weights. Lack of this, makes it difficult to acquire spare parts and maintain general quality products. To cope with this situation a national standardization institute should be formed. The African Regional Standardization Organization (ARSO) is available for matters relating to

standardizing products.

114. Maintenance is an important aspect in the industrialization process, and must be integrated into the production and manufacturing of ATIs and LCTE. Simple and routine maintenance procedures in the long run prevents a lot of unnecessary expenses for the enterprise that can least afford these costs. Where sophisticated repairs have to be done, the services of nearby workshops should be used instead of importing the expensive foreign labour. This is possible only if the same type of equipment is available locally.

5.2.7. : Creation of a data base of manufacturing plans and drawings

115. Rural workshops should be assisted to get the design and equipment to manufacture the products to meet the demand of their customers. This could be done by making available manufacturing drawings of equipment appropriate for local conditions. Creation of a data bank of such drawings and suitable production equipment with operational instructions could help in the development of desired products.

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116. When an operational study on rural workshops and others

manufacturing units is conducted, the basic characteristics of the workshop must be investigated to prepare operational data for pre-feas ibi1ity studies to attract the attention of the decis ion makers. The study should also evaluate the experience of the

existing rural workshops.

5.2.8.: Adequate Infrastructure

117. Adequate physical and institutional infrastructure can guarantee the establishment of better links between manufacturers

within the country and those in neighbouring countries with the aim

to improving production, and not duplicating the manufacture of

similar products. Less bureaucratic impediments by government is

also important to give assistance to the small entrepreneur.

118. The production of ATIs and LCTE require skilled manpower. This

manpower can eventually be used in other technical settings and may

contribute to the national technological skills acquisition. The training of the required manpower could be done by the enterprise

or in government institutions.

5.2.9.: Commercialization of product.

119. Commercialization of ATIs and LCTE is an important strategy that must be addressed by policy makers and especially the

entrepreneurs in these industries. Underdeveloped marketing

techniques present many problems for many producers of ATI and LCTE

in the region■. The process of commercialization is not easy. The product must be well defined, building its prototype and testing its feasibility, starting a production phase; and finally marketing

the product to users.There are several impediments to the commercialization of ATIs and LCTE in the African region. These include:

Vague and often unclear goals for the manufacture of these equipment:. Questions such as where will a constant and stable supply of the raw materials come from?, who needs the equipment that are being manufactured?, how many units have to

produced?, if import substitution is the goal is the quality

of the product good to counteract the inevitable challenges of imports legal or illegal?, what of manufacturing basic spare parts so that the prospective user can replace the needed parts without resorting to buying a new implement...etc.?

Lack of knowledge of existing institutional infrastructures to solve basic problems and provide basic answers to what are considered complex problems. Weak contacts and coordination with the industry and relevant government agencies. Using

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inappropriate technology that can cripple the production because of the failure of a simple part.

Inept management, no business orientation and lack of creativity in solving day to day problems. A creative manager

must be able to anticipate saturation in the market and find alternative buyers. He must know where the demand for his equipment is, even if this entails going outside of his

country.

120. Therefore, careful product designed to take into consideration the variety of demands, multi product production and utilization of existing national, subregional and regional markets might be a

solution to commercialising ATIs and LCTE.

5.2.10.: Adequate financial resources.

121. A major obstacle to the development of ATIs and LCTE in many

Dans le document Guidelines on the manufacture of agricultural tools, implements and low-cost transport equipment by small-scale engineering industries in the context of the Second Industrial Development Decade for Africa(second IDDA) (Page 64-68)