The Political and Economic Background to the Formulation of Food Security Policies

Tanzania’s economic crisis came to a head in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Tanzanian development model was considered to have failed and, as in most African countries, the need for structural reforms could no longer be overlooked. ¹⁵⁵ Despite the serious economic crisis, evident, for example, from bottlenecks in the supply of almost all consumer goods and further exacerbated by poor grain harvests in 1981/82 and 1982/83, the country was as unaffected by famine as it had been during the difficulties of the 1970s. Although this may, at first glance, seem obvious in view of Tanzania’s considerable agricultural potential, it needs to be emphasized in the African context. Regardless of agricultural potential, famine recurs constantly in countries where a situation akin to civil war has obtained for decades in some cases, such as Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Mozambique and Angola. Until the causes of the conflicts can be eliminated in these countries, a food security policy geared to the longer term is inconceivable.