Global agri-food trade has more than doubled since 1995, amounting to $1.5 trillion in 2018, with emerging and developing countries’ exports on the rise and accounting for over one-third of the world’s total, according to a new report issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets, 2020 (SOCO 2020)argues that global trade and well-functioning markets lie at the heart of the development process as they can spur inclusive economic growth and sustainable development, and strengthen resilience to shocks.
The report estimates that about one-third of global agricultural and food exports are traded within a global value chain and cross borders at least twice.
The rise of global trade value chains is driven by income growth, lower trade barriers and technological advancements, which have transformed markets and trade processes, linking farmers to traders and consumers across regions and countries.
“Global trade value chains can make it easier for developing countries to integrate into global markets. As they link our food markets closely, they also provide a mechanism to diffuse best practices to promote sustainable development,” said the FAO Director-General Director-General QU Dongyu in his introduction to the report.
In turn, by participating in global value chains, smallholder farmers can boost their food production and income. On average and in the short term, a 10 percent increase in agriculture’s global value chain participation can result in an increase of around 1.2 percent in labour productivity, finds the report.
Smallholder farmers, however, are often missing out on the benefits of global value chains. Furthermore, the emergence of global value chains with stringent food quality and safety requirements could further marginalize smallholders.
To achieve this, there is a need for broad policies to create an environment that enables markets to flourish and bolsters smallholders’ participation in global value chains – for example, better rural infrastructure and services, education and productive technology.
Digital technologies can help markets to function better and can improve farmers’ access to them. Innovations, such as food e-commerce, can benefit both farmers and consumers. However, to guarantee that the dividends of digital innovation are shared with the poorest, the current digital divide in agriculture needs to be reduced.
The adoption of more inclusive business models, such as contract farming and blockchains, can also help farmers to better integrate into modern and more complex value chains.
For example, participation in contract farming can increase farm income by more than half – based on an analysis of main studies on contract farming. The report underlines, however, the overall lack of information on the different impacts of contract farming, apart from its impact on farmers’ welfare.
The report makes the case for the role agri-food markets can play in fostering sustainable development.It argues that the promotion and wider application of voluntary sustainability certification schemes and standards in agriculture, for example, can address trade‑offs between economic, environmental and social objectives.
Sustainability certification schemes can promote fair trade, inclusion, non‑discrimination, and environmentally-friendly farm practices. They also can ensure occupational safety, ban child labour, and encourage investments.
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