Economic tactics: Commercial policy and the socialization of African agriculture

Commercial policies in some African countries have come under considerable criticism in recent years and it has become necessary to resolve the problems of existing agricultural marketing forms. An alternative approach to the market liberalization commonly recommended is to intervene in the market so as to achieve its regulation and control and a pricing system which can and will support the socialization of agricultural production in collective farms, maintain incentives for individual producers and encourage state procurement of basic crops. Such market control cannot be achieved without an active commercial policy based on the transformation of marketing institutions, effective forms of market intervention and the devolution of considerable power over pricing and marketing from the national to the local levels.