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Abstract
Rice in Guinea Bissau occupies a very important place in the agricultural and national economy
of the country. Traditionally the main staple grain in this estuarine country, it has in recent
decades become the largest food import. Government policy toward the rice sector is
complicated by its relationship to cashew cultivation – while not serious competitors in terms of
land, the majority of households grow at least some cashew which is bartered for rice at a rate of
exchange which de facto sets the relative prices between the two crops. This paper discusses the
relative merits of alternative policies to promote growth in rice production in light of these
considerations.