Because small farmers in developing countries are often not competitive with intensive industrialised agriculture, rapid liberalisation can in many places often lead to the loss of livelihoods, and undermine the food security of rural communities. For this reason, developing countries at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have sought to exempt from liberalisation the ’special products’ that are important to food security and livelihoods, and establish a ’special safeguard mechanism’ (SSM) that could allow them to shield domestic producers from import surges or price depressions - alongside other proposals for reforming agricultural trade.
Recent research looks at how a global scheme for targetted consumer subsidies could help tackle hunger and malnutrition; explores possible solutions to food price volatility; and examines how US biofuel policies may affect food prices and trade.
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