Comparative analysis of structural adjustment programs in Southern Africa with emphasis on agriculture and trade

This report assesses the progress being made by these countries in implementing reforms in pricing, trade, fiscal and monetary issues, and public enterprises, and assesses the impact of the reforms on agricultural production, trade, and food security in the region. The report also discusses non-implementation of programs, policy reversals and their consequences, and policy strategies and program direction in each country during 1995 and 1996 in terms of their integrity and their chances of success in the face of realities on the ground. Each country study ends with a summary of ongoing and proposed policy reform measures. Where data permit, policy matrices for past, ongoing, and future policy reform measures are provided. The study finds that SAPs have had different rates of implementation and success in each of the countries, with the evaluation of progress in some countries, such as Mozambique, being difficult due to a paucity of data. The study concludes that the effects of economic liberalization and the emergence of a democratic South Africa will create an environment in which trade will increasingly play a major role in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and will become a powerful engine for determining the economic transformation of the whole subregion.