PRICE STABILIZATION, LIBERALIZATION AND FOOD SECURITY - CONFLICTS ANDRESOLUTIONS

An important stimulus for cereal sector reform has been the massive fi scal costs of many state procurement and intervention agencies, This h as led to policies to minimize their role in the future through rapid market liberalization and a substantially increased role for the priva te sector, This approach may pay insufficient attention to price stabi lization and food security issues, There are several instances in whic h, even with a well-developed private sector, government intervention will be required to achieve adequate stability, Moreover, where the pr ivate sector is not fully developed, public sector agencies can potent ially play an important, but hopefully declining, role in either perfo rming or financing stabilization services, International assistance co uld be invaluable in supporting well-run intervention agencies through temporary liquidity crises, Cereal sector reform is a difficult proce ss even with strong government commitment, This is frequently weakened because donor agencies are unwilling to appreciate and accommodate th e real fears of governments concerning their loss of control over food security as a consequence of rapid liberalization, The hope is expres sed that with a more measured pace and explicit concern for this issue a stronger commitment to reform might emerge. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scien ce Ltd. All rights reserved.