Falling Through The Cracks:
Uganda’s Small Farmers and Trade Policy
Even though Uganda has been enjoying an impressive gross domestic product (GDP) of over 5% annually, farmers remain in a precarious situation, with poverty rates falling than rising and then falling again, only in a spate of the last eight years.

Concentrated Market Power
Sound markets depend upon competition, but the degree of concentrated market power in global agricultural markets has already grown to an alarming size. Sophia Murphy shows ways for accountable agri-food markets.

Governance of Imports
Cheap influx of agricultural imports have devasted farmer livelihodds in North and South. Arze Glipo analysis how the governance of agricultural imports in developing countries has been seriously eroded due to trade liberalization, and identifies main instruments and measures to restore countries’ policy space in the governance of imports.

Asymmetries
Free trade plays into the hands of the strong. De-rigging the rules is therefore not sufficient for a fair trading system. Gonzalo Fanjul  explains in his discussion paper some mayor assymetries, and how to redress these asymmetries in order to systematically favor weak over strong players in the trade arena.  

The Role of Exports
While exports can make a positive contribution to both poverty reduction and sustainable human development, they do so only if they are designed in accordance to the particular circumstances of a given country. Kamal Malhotra outlines the macro-economic interrelationship between exports and human develoment; Aileen K´wa & Souleymanne Bassoum point out concrete criteria how to maximize export’s contribution to sustainable development.

Qualified Market Access
The current free trade paradigm promotes a race to the bottom of environmental and social standards in agricultural production, in particular as transnational corporations relocate where standards are lowest. Hannes Lorenzen suggests „qualified market access“ as an instrument that re-considers tariffs and quotas in terms of their suitability for protecting common goods.

Supply Management
Other than in many industries, in agriculture supply and demand are very inelastic. A trade regime that is based on the assumption that free market adjustments in agriculture works, is ill-advised. Daniel de la Torre Ugarte therefore analyses the potential role of supply management in a future trade regime.

Small Farmers
The future of truly socially and environmentally sustainable agriculture lies in small farming systems, in particular if they are practicing biodiversity farming. Odour Ong'wen and Sarah Wright analyse reasons why and opportunities how to small farmers can be empower through trade rules.

Industrial Agriculture  
Ever since humans settled agriculture has generated environmental degradation and social tensions. However industrial agricultural farming practices particularly impact the environment, and are highly dependent on environmental resources that cannot be renewed.  Tilman Santarius and Wolfgang Sachs investigate how industrial agriculture is intertwined with the current trade regime, and discuss trade policies that may help to regenerate agriculture with the ecosphere.  

The World Bank’s WDR 2008: Agriculture for Development 
A response from a Slow Trade — Sound Farming Perspective by Sophia Murphy and Tilman Santarius

For the first time in 25 years, the World Bank’s annual Development Report (WDR 2008) is dedicated to agriculture. The World Bank is not alone in producing a report on agriculture this year. This review of the WDR 2008 is written from the perspective of the EcoFair Trade Reform Proposal, looking for synergies and informed in its critique by the thinking of the panel and the perspectives gathered in the whole EcoFair Trade Dialogue.

Global Food Crisis

In 2008, agricultural commodity prices on world markets reached their highest levels in 30 years. In some cases, the nominal prices set new records.Some of the policy mistakes are seemingly not directly related to agriculture, but have had a profound impact on production choices, and on what kind of food is available, and to whom.