Level 7 · Part 1
What logistics includes
Moving, handling, timing and information: the journey between maker and buyer.
Logistics is more than a truck. It includes collecting the product, packing and loading it, moving it, unloading it, and telling the buyer when it will arrive. Each step can add cost or cause loss.
Pick-up ──▶ Pack and load ──▶ Move ──▶ Unload
│
▼
Payment ◀── Buyer checks ◀── Delivery ◀── Wait| Way of moving | Often suits | Things to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Carrying, head loads, hand carts | Short distances, small loads, local markets | Limited load, tiring, product may be crushed |
| Bicycles and motorbikes | Small to medium loads on narrow or rough roads | Limited space, weather, rough handling |
| Tricycles and small pick-ups | Medium loads between villages and towns | Cost per trip, road condition, overloading |
| Trucks | Large loads, long distances | Need enough product to fill them, higher cost per trip, loading time |
| Boats and canoes | Places served by rivers and lakes | Weather, loading and unloading, protection from water |
| Shared or scheduled transport | Small producers who cannot fill a vehicle | Fixed times, limited control, risk of damage |
Match the way to the product
Fresh, fragile or heat-sensitive products need quick, gentle, shaded transport. Dry, packed products can often travel further and wait longer. There is no single best way: it depends on the product, the road, the distance and what the buyer will pay.
Exercise 7.1 · Map your journey
- Choose one product and one regular buyer.
- Draw the journey step by step from pick-up to payment, and write the way of moving used at each stage.
- Mark where the product waits, where it is handled roughly, and where it could be delayed.
- Mark with a star the point where you most often lose time, product or money.
Background reading for this part:
- Small-Scale Postharvest Handling Practices: A Manual for Horticultural Crops (4th edition) — L. Kitinoja and A. A. Kader, University of California, Davis (hosted by FAO)
- Developing Sustainable Food Value Chains: Guiding Principles — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2014