An important reason for the disappointing performance of structural adjustment and economic liberalization programmes in sub-Saharan Africa is that most national programmes suffer from bad timing and sequencing. This article argues that this is the case with Tanzania’s adjustment and liberalization measures since 1984, at least as they have affected one district in the southwest of the country, viz. Iringa District. Fieldwork was carried out in Iringa in 1989, together with a visit to the area in March-April 1991. The research explored the interactions between economic, social and political factors in the implementation of the recovery programme, with particular reference to agricultural policy and the role of the formal private sector. The nub of the problem is the substantial time lag between the impact of the exchange rate devaluations and associated measures on producers’ costs, and the agricultural marketing reforms needed to translate the ‘macro-price’ changes resulting from devaluation into effective incentives to producers and potential producers of tradables at the micro level. Bibliogr., notes, ref.
