A critical review of agricultural policy reform in Mozambique

Abstract

Mozambique , like any other Sub- Saharan African Country, has been under severe difficulties in the last few decades. There heve been indetified root causes of internal nature, though, emphasising that it is the internal factor and not the external one which is significant. Mozambique inherited a distorted sort of economy from the colonial power; an economy which had not been shaped with consideration to the country's best interests.it is described as a backward, distorted and very dependent economy, that was inherited at the year of independence, based principally on providing services and cheap labour to South Africa. The report identifies distortions stemming from exchange rate inflexibilities, high level of consumer subsidies, the lvel direct state marketing involvement and rigidities on princing polocies. The inherited large scale agriculture and capital intesive bias combined with price distortions, lack of services, and the breakdown of the marketing. Network led to supply contraction in the years of unfavourable international terms of trade, with consequent budgetary and balance of payments crisis. Above all, the war of aggression added the single major contributing element to the economic regression of mozambique. The first three chapters provide a general backgound to th structural weaknesses of the country's agricultural sector, with reference to the colonial legacy and the experiences of the other countries in the sub-saharan region. Inthe last two chapters the economic rehabilitation program is discussed, and driving the country back to its comparative advantage