The World Agricultural Forum recently held a round-table discussion on farm trade. For Reuters story, click here. Industry leaders stated that
“[f]arm trade must play a lead role in fighting protectionism and unwarranted government interventions in free markets as world economies contract, industry leaders told an agricultural forum on Monday.”According to former USDA Chief Economist J.B. Penn,
"There is always in times like this severe political pressure to take measures that are expedient in the short term but turn out to be counter-productive... There is a growing role for governments everywhere. That seems the fashion. But...history is replete with lessons, especially in the food and ag sector, where the distortions caused by government interventions actually reduce, rather than improve, food security[.]”
The focus of the forum was to rethink the current governmental thinking that countries should focus on being domestically productive, and shift to a globalized, interdependent system that will lead to long-term sustainability of prime farmland. According to Carl Hausmann, CEO of Bunge North America,
"[b]y maintaining the productivity of the world's most environmentally sustainable croplands we produce more crops more efficiently at a lower cost than if each country grew its own," Hausmann said. "The role of trade will be key.”
Finally, the round-table discussion focused on reviving the stalled Doha discussions.
For more information on the World Agricultural Forum’s roundtable discussion, click here.
Posted: 05/20/09
