Food, Security and Free Trade: How global development paradigms and interdependencies limit the policy space of national actors

Abstract

The liberalization efforts of the World Trade Organization (WTO) with regard to agriculture were supposed to create a fair global trade system and international food security. But instead, the Agreement on Agriculture of the WTO, in the context of a global development paradigm focussed on capital-intensive agriculture, led to the reduction of policy space of national actors. In various emerging economies this led to narrow agricultural development policies, which negatively affected small-scale agriculture. But also large-scale, exportoriented agriculture felt significant pressure because the industrialized countries did not follow through on their commitments. Against this background, the negotiations for a new international trade agreement are stagnating. At the same time, the situation of small-scale farmers and landless people has worsened.