Definition of political economy; agriculture as the lead sector in developing countries; factors influencing agricultural development (science and technology, agro-ecological conditions, commodity prices and markets, agricultural policies etc); the state of African agriculture compared to other regions of the developing world; causes of poor performance of African and Tanzanian agriculture; agricultural policies and strategies in Tanzania (from Ujamaa to Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs); SAPs and agricultural development; reform of food crop, cash crop and commodity markets; current Tanzanian initiatives in poverty alleviation: policies and strategies.