Saturday, June 28, 2003
Kick All Agricultural Subsidies
(kickAAS)
Eat the last free lunch in economics. Everyone gains. Abolition would cut food prices by £20 a family a week (according to Oxfam) while giving a huge boost to agriculture in developing countries. Poor countries could sell products – like sugar, cereals and skimmed milk – they are mush better suited to produce. The tragedy is they are being undercut even in their own domestic markets by subsidised Western produce. Sometimes trade is better than aid. And it costs nothing
What's more the present system doesn't even do what it claims to do. According to the OECD less than half of the $300 billion handed out gets through even to the most efficient farmers and subsides for price support are less than less than 25% successful.
The truth is that even farmers would gain – by weaning themselves off subsidies that have become a dependency habit.
Kicking agricultural subsidies is one of the very few campaigns that unites right, left and centre. Join us and kickAAS.
WHAT NEXT? Following Europe’s weasly compromise recently, we need suggestions how to turn this into a globalized campaign to make politicians in the most subsidy-ridden regions – Europe and the US to sit up and listen. The next round of trade talks in Cancun starts next month. We need help now. Please post your support, spread the word and give us suggestions.
Keep it simple – abolish ALL agricultural subsidies: kickAAS
Blog for the world's poor
email
keegan@pimlico.demon.co.uk
Abolish Agricultural Subsidies (AAS).
Eat the last free lunch in economics. Abolition would cut food prices for Western families (by £20 a week according to Oxfam) and give a huge boost to agriculture in developing countries currently being driven out of the market by subsidised western products.
It needs a globalised campaign. We invite suggestions how we can marshall world opinion, particularly in the US and Europe, to force the politicians to do something.
Blog for the world's poorest countries
