ABSTRACT
Agricultural market reforms in Madagascar resemble those in many other African countries which have gone through cycles of government interventionism and retreat (see Berg, 1989; Staatz et al., 1989). After Madagascar obtained independence from France, governments initially increased the intervention of the state in agricultural markets (see Dorosh and Bernier, 1994; Shuttleworth, 1989; Berg, 1989; Pryor, 1990; Barrett, 1994; 1995) such that by the end of the 1970s, most trade in agricultural products and inputs was in the hands of the state. A reversal of policy took place in the 1980s with a transition from a state food marketing and distribution system to a liberalized market. This transition, however, was very gradual.
