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Leading up to the December 2005 World Trade Organization's (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong, Pambazuka News is examining some of the issues regarding the WTO as it affects Africa. This week we look at agriculture in Africa.

The importance of agriculture and agricultural trade in Africa cannot be exaggerated. In 2001 alone, agriculture provided $20.7 billion to Africa’s economy. Indeed, farming employs at least 70% of the workforce in Sub-Saharan Africa, and generates about 30% of the continents gross domestic product. At the same time, African farmers are among the poorest in the world. Access to fair and equitable agricultural trade policies is crucial for Africa in terms of food security, economic development and poverty eradication.

Agriculture in Africa

Leading up to the December 2005 World Trade Organization's (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong, Pambazuka News is examining some of the issues regarding the WTO as it affects Africa. This week we look at agriculture in Africa.

The importance of agriculture and agricultural trade in Africa cannot be exaggerated. In 2001 alone, agriculture provided $20.7 billion to Africa’s economy. Indeed, farming employs at least 70% of the workforce in Sub-Saharan Africa, and generates about 30% of the continents gross domestic product. At the same time, African farmers are among the poorest in the world. Access to fair and equitable agricultural trade policies is crucial for Africa in terms of food security, economic development and poverty eradication.

Many barriers exist for rural farmers in Africa – poor soil, lack of rainfall and weak infrastructure. But even more worrying are the global trade rules that have been forced onto African governments whose own structures are not strong enough to protest these unfair and detrimental policies. The Uruguay Round of trade agreements, which began in 1994, are generally held as the turning point in global agricultural policy, and are called the Agreements on Agriculture.

Trade liberalization and tariff barriers have been just some of the areas that have been detrimental to African farmers. Structural adjustment policies and trade conditions have resulted in eliminating subsidies and reducing tariffs for African countries. At the same time, highly subsidized European and American farmers undermine African farmers in both domestic and export markets – leaving African farmers unable to compete in the global market. Further, these subsidized goods lead to overproduction, which then results in lowered prices. Many developing countries, like those found in Africa, rely on one or two types of crops, and then lose out on contracts. The corporatisation of agriculture is also problematic. Few can afford to run small-scale farms, and are therefore forced to work on larger, corporate type farms on land that is not theirs and for low wages. They reap none of the benefits of their work, and have no access to the food that they grow.

African farmers thus call for the elimination of export subsidies, reductions in domestic trade distorting subsidies in developed countries, tariff and quota free market access for less developed countries, domestic supports for small scale farmers to enhance food security, and the standardization of food safety and processing requirement. African and other developing countries are also calling for a “development box” of rules and exemptions that would allow poor nations to protect their agricultural industries. These are an extension of “special and differential treatment” WTO principles, which intend to help developing countries integrate into the global economy of trade and implement their commitments.

These Agreements in Agriculture are due to be finalized by the end of 2005, thus, the WTO Ministerial is crucial to African governments. Wealthy countries, such as the US and the EU, have been fighting to protect the policies that are advantageous to them. African governments must work, therefore, to uphold the demands of farmers and stand firm in their negotiations with the WTO to protect the agricultural sector of the continent.

* Researched and written by Karoline Kemp, a Commonwealth of Learning Young Professional Intern with Fahamu.

Further Reading:

UN International Trade - http://www.un.org/esa/progareas/trade.html

Oxfam and Trade - http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/issues/trade/index.htm

Previous Articles:

Women and Trade - http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=30051

On the Road to Hong Kong - http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=29838

Africa and WTO - http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=29857