Chapter 4


* reforms of the mode of operation of certain elements of agricultural production and
 marketing system, such as input supply, research and extension, rural infrastructure,
 agricultural credits, food buffer stocks, etc.

All these issues are closely linked, and close linkages also exist with other elements of
macro-economic and structural adjustment policies, specifically to exchange rate policies,
trade and institutional reforms.

Agricultural sector policies have the most direct, the most comprehensive and the most
crucial impacts on the food economy and food security. They determine the prices and
volumes of food supplies, the stability of food supplies, the income of agricultural producers
(constituting the majority of the population in most developing countries), the volume and
efficiency of marketing operations (procurement, storage, transport, distribution), and, last
but not least, the real income of consumers.

Fig. 4.8 depicts the main lines of impact of agricultural market reform and sectoral
adjustment policies on the food economy and on food security. It shows that they affect
almost all elements of the meso-micro-economic framework. The main features and effects
of the various approaches will be discussed in the subsequent sections.

 Figure 4.8:
 Main lines of impact of agricultural sectoral adjustment/market reforms on the food
 economy and food security


- 156 -