World Development Report must galvanize greater international support for agriculture, says Oxfam

Today’s new World Development Report must galvanize a strong response from governments and institutions to correct many years of neglect of the millions of poor people who depend on agriculture, says international agency Oxfam.Oxfam welcomes the World Bank’s report in highlighting the vital contribution that agriculture can make to reduce global poverty. Donors and governments have until recently turned their backs on this vital sector, with overall global aid to agriculture falling by two thirds, from $11.5bn in 1987 to $3.9bn in 2005, despite the millions of poor people still living in rural areas. World Bank lending to agriculture amounted to $1.75bn in 2006, just 7% of total bank lending compared with more than 30 per cent when the last agriculture report was published in 1982. The world’s richest countries – France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US – all provide less aid to agriculture today than they have in the past. “There are signs that the rich world is at last rediscovering the huge poverty-fighting potential of agriculture,” said Gawain Kripke of Oxfam International. “Three-quarters of all poor people in developing countries live in rural areas and women make up the vast majority. Women produce more than half of all the food grown worldwide, yet own only two per cent of all land and get only one per cent of lending to agriculture. Oxfam warns that there is also a danger of past mistakes being repeated. “Spending is only a part of the battle,” said Kripke. “The World Bank has long insisted that as a condition of receiving its aid, poor countries have to liberalize their agricultural sectors before they receive its money. This has left millions of poor farmers without assistance to face markets that are very distorted in favor of rich country exporters. International trade rules are rigged in favor of rich countries preventing developing countries from reaping the economic growth that agriculture offers. “The Bank must learn, and not repeat mistakes from its last agricultural report 25 years ago. Trade liberalization by itself does not help the poor. Rapid liberalization can undermine growth and compound inequality. Moreover rich countries have yet to reform their own agricultural policies and are still dumping on the world markets. Forcing developing countries to liberalize in the face of this would be a continuing disaster.” There is now substantial evidence that liberalizing at the wrong time can hurt development. In Peru smallholder farmers growing quinoa, beans and potatoes were unable to compete against cheap wheat and rice imports following market opening, while the lowering of rice tariffs in Honduras meant cheaper prices for importers but consumers were worse off as price cuts were not passed on. “It is a staggering indictment that the rich world has treated this vast and vital sector with such disdain for so long. There’s reason to be optimistic that’s finally changing but at the moment those changes are not enough nor fast enough,” said Kripke. The Bank’s report does not consider the quality of the jobs it says can be created from rural labor markets, nor the impact on women workers. It also fails to explain adequately how agri-businesses should be better regulated and how poor farmers can avoid being exploited within market chains that are increasingly dominated by big business. The state must take a greater role in safeguarding the interests of small farmers and agricultural laborers.