Economic bulletin for Africa: vol. XI, no.1

Abstract

Economic co-operation in Africa has usually been promoted on the basis of trade liberalization 2nd joint production planning of large-scale industrial projects. This latter objective has been considered necessary in view of the small domestic markets of most of the countries of the region, which, coupled with low per capita income, together make demand for most commodities low, at least compared with that in the developed countries. It has been claimed that grouping countries together in this way and thereby pooling their small markets makes it possible to establish large-scale industries so as to benefit from economies of scale. This is particularly necessary for those industries that are inevitably large-scale. It was not considered that such an objective was very important for crop 2nd livestock production. Yet in view of the large linkage and employment effects which the processing of agricultural products can have on industrialization and on economic development generally, it can be claimed that such a view of the role of agriculture and livestock development was a narrow and misguided one.