Subsidy reform is already taking place in many areas of the world

There is much about the proposition side case that smacks of orientalism. The quality of life of individuals in many of the world’s poorest states has been immeasurably improved by the ready availability of cheap western food imports.[i] The ability of western farmers to provide food at lower prices than their competitors in the developing world’s domestic market is actually driving growth and productivity among poor agricultural producers. Subsidies’ contribution to poor agricultural production in the developing world is marginal. Indeed, many of the poorest states trade with European Countries on terms as favourable as those set out in the treaties of the European Union. Under the Everything But Arms scheme, underdeveloped states can export goods to EU states without being required to pay tariffs or customs charges.[ii] Further, as noted below, changes to the CAP have now create a European subsidy regime that carefully controls production rates, punishes over production and ensures  surpluses are not “dumped” onto the export market. Under a range of partnership agreements, the EU now sources 71% of its agricultural imports from developing states.[iii] Increasing developing state’s dependence on their domestic agricultural markets is likely to increase food prices within their borders. The relative level of sophistication of developing states’ transport infrastructure and agricultural technologies is much lower than in Europe. Consequently, the cost of producing a commodity- grain, say- within a developing nation, and then transporting it to consumers will be much higher. Poorly maintained roads will increase journey times and will cause a larger proportion of stock to spoil before it can be sold. Credit and stock systems will be slow and undeveloped, impacting on the efficiency of doing business with local farmers. All of the factors listed above also affect export trade. While international travel may be a relatively fast and efficient affair, the process of moving bulky agricultural goods to ports and airports, let alone soliciting and processing orders from European importers, will prove extremely difficult for farmers in the developing world.[iv] The diversification of the food export industry envisioned by side proposition simply will not happen. Underfunding and underdevelopment of infrastructure in poorer states will not allow it. Moreover, the increased cost of transporting goods across rural areas, particularly as many of the poorest countries are cursed with being landlocked, in the subcontinent or Africa places a premium on food before it even reaches the communities that will consume it.[v] At the very least, the controlled reduction of food prices by subsidies ensures that this premium is affordable. Attempts by side proposition to imply that rural communities suffer disproportionately under the current subsidies scheme are rendered nonsensical by the observation that not all agricultural goods are staple foods. Growers of tobacco or coffee and the other forms of labour intensive export goods mentioned above are already engaged in a trade that has a great deal of developmental potential. However, requiring them to pay higher prices for domestically produced food might undermine the profits farmers make on flowers or spices. Moreover very few rural populations are entirely self-sufficient, and will always require access to external supplies of staple products.[vi] [i] Davies, Daniel, ‘Africa does not need more expensive food’, guardian.co.uk, 26 July 2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/jul/26/dumpingdumping [ii] ‘Everything But Arms’, European Commission Trade, http://ec.europa.eu/trade/wider-agenda/development/generalised-system-of... [iii] ‘The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP): on the move in a changing world. How the EU’s agriculture and development policies fit together’, European Commission Agriculture and Rural Development, 2010, p.7 http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/developing-countries/publi/brochure2010/text_en.pdf [iv] Sachs, Jeffrey, ‘Lecture 4: Economic Solidarity for a Crowded Planet’, Bursting at the Seams Reith Lectures 2007, http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith2007/lecture4.shtml [v] Collier, Paul, ‘Africa: Geography and Growth’, Centre for the Study of African Economies, July 2006, http://users.ox.ac.uk/~econpco/research/pdfs/AfricaGeographyandGrowth.pdf [vi] Short, Clare, ‘Food Insecurity – A Symptom of Poverty’, Sustainable Food Security For All By 2020, 4-6 September 2001, p.2, http://conferences.ifpri.org/2020conference/PDF/summary_short.pdf