The economic policy of structural adjustment, which was initiated in most African countries during the 1980s, posed a serious threat to agricultural marketing boards in sub-Saharan Africa. Two... Show moreThe economic policy of structural adjustment, which was initiated in most African countries during the 1980s, posed a serious threat to agricultural marketing boards in sub-Saharan Africa. Two elements of structural adjustment were particularly ominous: 'privatization' threatened the continued existence of marketing boards as public enterprises, and the 'liberalization of trade' worsened the conditions under which they operated. On the basis of an extensive study of the literature, this report examines what actually happened to 39 marketing boards in 18 countries. The period covered is January 1980 till December 1989. The results, presented partly in the form of tables and partly as case studies, show that most marketing boards have survived but that their scope has been reduced. The case studies deal with the Office national de commercialisation des produits de base (ONCPB) in Cameroon, the Cotton Board of Kenya (CBK), the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) in Malawi, Senegal's Office national de coopération et d'assistance pour le développement (ONCAD), the Société nationale de commercialisation des oléagineux du Sénégal (Sonacos), and the National Milling Corporation (NMC) in Tanzania. Show less
The creation of the ONCPB (Office national de commercialisation des produits de base) in 1976 was a turning point in the history of government regulation of agricultural marketing in Cameroon. It... Show moreThe creation of the ONCPB (Office national de commercialisation des produits de base) in 1976 was a turning point in the history of government regulation of agricultural marketing in Cameroon. It went a long way in unifying and harmonizing the marketing arrangements in francophone and anglophone Cameroon. The ONCPB received legal powers to regulate and control the marketing of five export crops: cocoa, coffee, cotton, groundnuts and palm kernels. These powers do not dictate a standard pattern for ONCPB participation in marketing. Its commercial activities vary from crop to crop and between anglophone and francophone Cameroon, revealing a flexibility which seems characteristic for the Cameroonian authorities. ONCPB's collaboration with private enterprise, operating under licence, is noted for its close and vigilant supervision; relations between cooperative enterprise and the ONCPB are more relaxed but also require frequent negotiations and detailed agreement. Show less
Investigates the direct effects of modern transport on advance into the interior, structure and organization, and withdrawal from the interior in the 1950s and 1960s of these firms. A revised... Show moreInvestigates the direct effects of modern transport on advance into the interior, structure and organization, and withdrawal from the interior in the 1950s and 1960s of these firms. A revised edition of this article in: Cahiers d'études africaines, 21 (1981), 84, p. 547-575. Show less
