Timely reminder for G8. The G8 is currently meeting in Italy and its decision to include a declaration or position in its programme on food security in the world (see EUROPE yesterday) is particularly timely. This problem is closely linked to climate change questions and the financial crisis, which are at the centre of the debates at these top level meetings. The initiative that has been announced forms part of the more serene and objective role of agriculture in a world of accelerated demographic expansion, including in Europe. It is now accepted that the world needs European agricultural production and that unlimited free trade in food products destroys subsistence farming in poor countries. This column has examined this issue on several occasions and steered these developments in the right direction. Two events, that are in fact connected, provide us with the opportunity to look at the matter again from both a global and European point of view.
Important discourse from the experts. The latest issue of the “Politique étrangère” (Foreign Policy) journal produced by the Institut français des relations internationals (IFRI) devoted a section to the theme of Strengths and Weaknesses in Agricultural Policies. Contributions covered subjects such as the hunger riots, links between agriculture and development and conditions for sustainably feeding the planet. I won't attempt to summarise these texts and will just quote some of the important points made: - in poor countries, policies for liberalising agricultural trade have undermined the instruments of state intervention. - We need to put a halt to a development, which, in Africa, sacrifices agriculture to industrial development and then to services; agriculture is central to Africa's future. What was good for the British Empire is not necessarily so for all the others in 2009. - To be able to develop its agriculture and feed its population, Africa needs to sustainably protect its markets from competition from the most competitive countries, including, first and foremost, the major emerging countries. - Europe is the outlet for half of all African agricultural exports, whereas only 30% of African imports come from Europe. - Food agriculture must be made the priority that takes into account the food traditions and habits of different nations, as well as agronomic factors. - The question of agriculture is not all about trade. - The relationship between agricultural trade and development lacks both theoretical and empirical foundations (this last sentence is based on the work carried out by MOMAGRI, the Movement for a World Agriculture Organisation).
Europe as part of global problem. The opportunity of returning to the European aspect of this problem was provided to me by the contribution made by Jean-Luc Demarty, Director General of “Agriculture and Rural Development” at the European Commission, during the presentation of IFRI's journal. He spoke about reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP) and not the forthcoming results of the ongoing political negotiations. He also sought to underline and recall a few of the essential points:
1. CAP is still essential to Europe, even if its financial funding (€55bn to cover management and rural development) could be slightly reduced and certain aspects of how it works revised. It ensures and will continue to ensure: a) Europeans' food security both quantitatively and qualitatively; b) regional management, covering the protection of natural resources and landscapes, the viability of rural areas, which account for most of the Community's available space and which, in the absence of farming, would be unable to guarantee other activities (culture, sport, leisure etc); c) the ability to tackle new challenges such as water management and protecting biodiversity (see below).
2. Community dimension is indispensable to CAP. National policies would be inefficient and even damaging. The subsidies that isolated member states could provide to agriculture would be deeply unequal because some member states would not be able to fund them. A single market would no longer be viable in this sector; the overall costs would be much higher; economic and social cohesion in the EU would be seriously compromised. It is true that differences exist in the level of aid but these differences are declining and will gradually be reabsorbed. The CAP represents an essential element in European construction.
3. CAP has largely been transformed. When the CAP is criticised, it is the CAP of yesterday or the day before yesterday that is being criticised! Over the last 25 years, it has undergone profound corrective measures and has been modified on several occasions, notably by way of decoupling payments to farmers: part of it comes from the sales of their products, part of it funds their contribution to environmental protection, preserving the landscape and regional balance in our countries (by avoiding urban sprawls in the major cities and the suburbs getting totally out of control). Other CAP reforms are currently being examined.
4. CAP will also tackle the challenges of the future. In particular, biodiversity (seriously compromised in the world, including in Europe), climate change and water management require new initiatives, for which a common European policy is the only way of implementing them: rivers, rain and climate do not respect national borders…
Appropriate trade policy. It is quite simply impossible to apply certain general principles from global trade to the agricultural sector. Farming in poor countries must be encouraged and therefore, partly protected: free trade should not be the only criterion applicable. The EU itself should, in the ongoing WTO negotiations, maintain certain protection. Standards protecting consumer health and product quality should be respected. The EU should also put an end to export subsidies (which have in fact been drastically reduced), on the condition that major third country exporters do likewise.
Mr Demarty has obviously not taken a position on the negotiations on the CAP's future, which are continuing at a political level, but he did recall the main principles cited and reaffirmed some of the orientations he considers indispensable, such as decoupling payments to farmers. He did not aim to announce anything new but rather, to clarify what farming actually means to Europe and the world and to underline the stakes involved in further revision of the CAP. We can thank him for providing us with the opportunity of highlighting these points to our readers.
(F.R./transl.rh)