LONDON—Food trade liberalization in developing countries can
hurt attempts to alleviate poverty and damage the environment, according to a
report from a United Nations and World Bank sponsored group issued on Tuesday.
"Opening national markets to international competition can
offer economic benefits but can lead to long term negative effects on poverty
alleviation, food security and the environment without basic national
institutions and infrastructure being place," the report said.
Sixty governments, including Brazil, China, France and India,
have approved the report. The US, Australia and Canada are due to submit
reservations later this week while Britain have not yet officially responded.
Governments are deeply concerned at the impact of rising food
prices and the effect they are having on the world’s poor. There have been
food-related riots in Haiti as well as protests in Cameroon, Niger and Burkina
Faso in Africa, and in Indonesia and the Philippines.
Top finance and development officials from around the world
called this week for urgent steps to stem rising food prices, warning that
social unrest would spread unless the cost of basic staples was contained.
Tuesday’s report, from the International Assessment of
Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), said increases in
intensive, export-orientated agriculture had serious social and environmental
implications including exportation of soil nutrients and water and exploitative
labor conditions.
The IAASTD, whose co-sponsors include the World Bank, the UN’s Food and
Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization, said the benefits of
increases in agricultural production were also unfairly distributed with the
current system often increasing the gap between rich and poor.
