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Impact Of Agricultural Market Reforms On Smallholder Farmers In ...

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<strong>In</strong> 1988-89, the entire state-owned bank sector collapsed under the weight of bad loans and<br />

corruption.<br />

By 1989, the economic crisis prevented the government from paying public-sector salaries. A<br />

series of strikes paralyzed the economy, leading the president to renounce Marxism-Leninism and<br />

call for a national constitutional conference.<br />

2.3.3 Structural adjustment (1989 – present)<br />

The first Structural Adjustment Program (PAS I) with the World Bank and the <strong>In</strong>ternational<br />

Monetary Fund (IMF), signed in 1989, was designed to assist the government with the severe<br />

economic crisis. The implementation of the PAS I was delayed, however, by the political turmoil<br />

in the country. The Conférence Nationale des Forces Vives, held in 1990, called for the end of<br />

military rule and a return to democracy under a new constitution. <strong>In</strong> 1991, a newly elected<br />

president took office, marking the beginning of a period of constitutional democracy that continues<br />

to the present.<br />

The second structural adjustment program (PAS II), covering 1991-1994, focused on restarting<br />

economic growth, restoring fiscal balance, restructuring public enterprises, and reforming the<br />

banking sector. Policy reforms included the elimination of quantitative restrictions on imports,<br />

reduction in the number of goods subject to price control, simplification of business registration,<br />

and elimination of the monopolies of state enterprises in domestic trade. It also included a<br />

Programme de Restructuration du Secteur Agricole (PRSA) discussed below. <strong>In</strong> addition, after<br />

years of debate and accumulated evidence of overvaluation, the CFA franc was devalued by 50<br />

percent in January 1994. The exchange rate rose from 50 to 100 FCFA per French franc,<br />

effectively doubling the FCFA border price of all imports and exports.<br />

The third structural adjustment program (PAS III), covering 1995-1999, continued the macroeconomic<br />

reforms begun in PAS II. <strong>In</strong> addition, it attempted to develop basic infrastructure,<br />

expand the delivery of social services, improve the efficiency of public service provision, and<br />

address problems of poverty and vulnerability.<br />

The reforms programs have had some notable success, particularly on the macroeconomic<br />

problems. Fiscal deficits have fallen from 11 percent of GDP in 1989 to 4 percent in 1996.<br />

Economic growth has increased from 1-2 percent in the late 1980s to 4-5 percent in the 1990s. The<br />

10

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