Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Robert H. Bates, Markets and States in Tropical Africa: The Political Basis of Agricultural
Policies, 1981, pp 1-44 and 81-95
This book was published in 1981, and hence, all the examples are from 1970s and before. The
book is divided into two parts Part I (Ch. 1-4) is descriptive and Part II (Ch. 5-7) is interpretive.
The book draws information from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, the Sudan, Ivory
Coast, and the Sahelian countries, especially Senegal, and does not include the former settler
territories of Southern Africa.
Chapter I: Policies Toward Cash Crops for Export
This chapter discusses how agricultural states in Africa have diverted funds from agriculture to
industry using surpluses from State Marketing Agencies that, under colonialism, were originally
established to help farmers. Under self-government, states sought to modernize their economies
using low-interest loans and grants from State Marketing Agencies. While state-sponsored
businesses, local agricultural processors, and the SMA bureaucracies have benefited from these
practices, these benefits have come at the expense of farmers who are paid prices for their cash
crops well below the world market prices.
State Marketing Agencies: Sanctioned by law to be sole buyers of major agricultural exports.
They purchase cash crops at administratively determined prices and then sell them at the world
market price. Prices paid to farmers are kept lower than the world market price, allowing the
agencies to accumulate funds.
State Marketing Agencies under colonialism
! originated in times of economic crisis (Great Depression or World War II) to accumulate funds
for the benefit of the farming community. Mandated by legislation to use the bulk of funds to
benefit farmers, particularly through price stabilization.
! As agriculture was the principal economic activity for most of Africa and generated the
greatest volume of foreign exchange, state marketing agencies became the wealthiest and
most economically significant unit of their economies
! Colonial governments were sometimes able to divert SMA funds to other public coffers
State Marketing Agencies under Self-Government
! Under self-government, new states were concerned about developing local economies
! Independent states were now run by elected politicians rather than appointed administrators.
! As one of the wealthiest units, SMA funds were an attractive revenue source for developing
industry and appeasing interest groups. States sought to divert SMA funds from farmers to
other uses, particularly promoting industry.
! Example: Ghana in 1957 passed a bill declaring that funds previously legislated to help cocoa
farmers should properly be regarded as being held in trust for all people of Ghana. When
cocoa prices fell between 1959-62, the price drop was directly passed onto farmers.
! States extracted money from SMAs as grants and low-interest loans (which were often never
paid back)
! Urban industry received a disproportionate amount of SMA funds
! This practice can essentially be considered a tax on farmers, for which they were not
compensated in terms of interest payments or goods and services.
Chapter II: The Food Sector: The Political Dynamics of Pricing Policies
Why do African states want to lower the cost of food?
" There is political pressure from urban workers, who have often demonstrated and seized
power to protest the erosion of their purchasing power
" The government, as a major employer of workers (from civil servants and bureaucrats to
railroad operators), has an incentive to resist wage increases
What alternatives does the government have at its disposal?
" It can attempt to reduce the effectiveness of organizations that advance the interests of
urban workers (e.g. suppress trade unions)
" Or it can use policies to lower the cost of living. This option attempts to cope with political
problems whose origins lie outside of the agricultural sector, and makes rural producers
bear the cost
What types of policies are used to lower the cost of food?
" Commercial policy or the manipulation of trade:
o Governments overvalue the exchange rate, making foreign goods seem cheaper
relative to domestic goods. Without tariff barriers, domestic food prices must fall
to compete.
o And/or governments manipulate tariff barriers to allow imports only when
domestic food prices get too high, and to prevent exports when world prices are
above domestic prices
o These policies are consumer biased and are very hard on producers
" Direct interventions in the market:
"
They move into production of crops that are more profitable only because they are less heavily
taxed, and hence, incur economic losses.
Collective Action
The marketplace offers only private solutions to the collective problem. However,
farmers often do not dare to seek public solutions for fear of government reprisal, and also
because the structure of the industry greater obstacles to organizing. Since Africa is
overwhelmingly rural, there are large numbers of farm families, and each produces a small
portion of the total output. In comparison, there are few urban producers who control large
portions of each industry, and hence benefit-cost ratio of collective action favor those working in
industries other than farming.
However, not all farmers are treated equally; large farmers receive more favorable
treatment. Large farmers tend to be geographically concentrated and face lower costs of
organizing. Hence they act collectively in defense of their interests. E.g. rice farmers in Ghana
and Kenya National Farmers Union (KNFU). The interest of large and small farmers often
conflict, but sometimes these large farm lobbyists generate benefits for the industry as a whole.
E.g. KNFUs lobby to increase food prices in 1976.
There are two important implications 1) As the number of large farmers increases n
Africa, the farming community will tend to grow politically more assertive, leading to conflict
between industries and farming communities. 2) Countries with greater number of farmers will
tend to have agricultural policies that offer more favorable prices to farmers.