PROSPECTS AND PROBLEMS OF A COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY AMONG WEST AFRICAN STATES

In Europe, America, Africa and Asia, the Twentieth Century has witnessed movements towards economic unions and/or common trading arrangements. The fact that early movements at common trading policies were among advanced countries, indicate that even economies at such advanced stages of development see ample benefits to be derived from such associations. The early theories of economic co-operation centred on trade creation and trade diversion are said to be static and are therefore inapplicable to the situation in developing countries. This is due in most cases to their low volume of trade in the world and even between the developing states themselves. Hence economic co-operation here is seen in the light of its contribution to economic growth and/or structural transformation of these developing countries. Thus alliances like those for cocoa and coffee are seen as a means of obtaining high export prices to provide the foreign exchange necessary for economic development.