The food crisis has many causes but the most significant according to this report, is the failure of agricultural policies. The paper asks why, after years of World Bank and IMF designed agricultural sector reforms, do Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique face chronic food insecurity. The answer given is that reforms were carried out without first carrying out a serious assessment of their likely impact on poverty and food security. The 'one size fits all' liberalisation policies implemented have failed to lead to growth but have exacerbated the exclusion of the poor from the market.