Crafting a Market: A Case Study of USAID's Fertilizer Sub-Sector Reform Program.Program of Reform in the Agricultural Marketing Sector, Phase 1 (PRAMS I). Program of Research on Market Transitions (PROMT)

摘要

The success of Cameroon's Fertilizer Sub-Sector Reform Program (FSSRP),inaugurated in 1987 with USAID support, stands in marked contrast to the generally dismal record of other privatization programs in Africa. This case study examines the experience of FSSRP, using a framework which analyzes institutions in terms of three factors: (1) their physical-technical context; (2) the prevailing economic environment; and (3) the governance structure of the industry. Following an introduction, Section II discusses relatively stable situational factors affecting the fertilizer industry in Cameroon: the physical context of Cameroon and its agriculture, the technical context of fertilizer as a good to market or use, and the institutional context of the prevailing bureaucratic regime.