Abstract/Description

Writing from Umberleigh in Devon, England, Trevor Wilson takes us firmly to task and introduces a useful distinction between judgement and implementation. 'Unfortunately some of your authors disparage things about which they clearly know nothing. I...

Notes

Writing from Umberleigh in Devon, England, Trevor Wilson takes us firmly to task and introduces a useful distinction between judgement and implementation. 'Unfortunately some of your authors disparage things about which they clearly know nothing. I refer, in particular, to the remark in the lead article 'Can we all be policy makers?' of Spore 93 (June 2001) about 'ill-judged and ill-fated policies such as the groundnut scheme in the East Africa of the 1940Žs The scheme can hardly be considered to have been a 'policy' matter in the modern sense. It was not ill-judged although it was initially ill-executed mainly because agriculture cannot be managed like a military operation.' After listing the various benefits reaped from the scheme such as infrastructural improvements which led to diversified production, improved cash earnings and food security, Mr Wilson concludes: 'It is easy to disparage early attempts at development and emphasise the negative aspects. It is more honest, however, to look for the benefits and emphasise the positive ones. An objective benefit-cost analysis of the totality of the groundnut scheme would certainly show very high economic rates of return.'