ABSTRACT
It was suggested at the end of the preceding chapter that the boards and their policies are best seen as instruments for a large measure of socialization of peasant agriculture in West Africa. This aspect of their operations does not seem to have been explicitly recognized, and it has certainly not been advanced in support of their policies. But as already stated it would be inappropriate to examine this issue here. On the other hand, it is legitimate, and indeed necessary, to examine the arguments generally advanced in support of the policies of the boards, whether by their own spokesmen or by influential supporters of these statutory monopolies. 2
