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8. Sustainable Agriculture and World Trade

Lead Papers


Ayalneh Bogale, Valentin Ciubotaru, S.G. Patil* and L.B. Hugar* and M.S. Veerapur* and J. Yerriswamy* and T. Cross† and A.C. vanLoon† and G.W. vanLoon†,Martha McMahon, Dr. A.S.R.A.S. Sastri, V.P. Singh, Heinrich Wohlmeyer and Hermann Dissemond

 

Even if all Uruguay Round concessions are implemented by the industrialized countries, there are still significant trade barriers in the form of high tariff peaks (from 12 per cent to 300 per cent or more) and tariff escalation affecting exports from developing countries(Dufour). Especially in agriculture, exports from developing countries are made impossible by domestic support and subsidy programmes in industrialized countries. Future negotiations would have to include significant reductions in:

  •     Tariffs
  •     Domestic support
  •     Export subsidies

The reform of agricultural trade also has to take into account issues such as food security, particular problems of food-importing developing countries and social impacts of agricultural trade liberalization.
 

An indicator for sustainable agriculture is the number of different  agricultural crops (Dufour).

 

Dr. A.S.R.A.S. Sastri, V.P. Singh and R.K. Singh have shown that development of agriculture in a sustainable manner is the primary mandate of agricultural scientists of the globe. With the increasing use of chemical fertilisers, insecticides and herbicides, there is an international consciousness for environmental protection. In collaboration with International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines, I am working on the environmental characterization and assessment of sustainability of rainfed rice production in Eastern India. We started the project work with a basic concept that ‘sustainability is not a destination but is a continuous journey’. I went to IRRI as a ‘visiting scientists’ for 3 months and initiated the work in collaboration with Dr. V.Pal. Singh, Agronomist and co-ordinator South Asia Programme of IRRI. Dr. Singh has a tremendous knowledge and vast experience on environmental characterization and measuring sustainability. We initially assessed the sustainability using the time series data of rice productivity in Eastern India. Based on the average productivity level and its variability, the sustainability has been assessed depending upon the level and its productivity and variability. A sustainability ladder concept has been developed and the position of each district of each state has been assessed. A comprehensive agro-ecological atlas has been developed in which the status of rainfall probability, stable rainfall periods, sustainability status of strategies for improving the rice productivity in a sustainable manner have been discussed. Also, the impact of technological and environmental components in the fluctuations and trends of rice productivity in different states of eastern India have been worked out.

Even in the Agenda 21 of the Earth Summit held in 1992, there was a special mention about this aspect. However, in case of agriculture, with the endeavour for increasing the productivity to meet the challenges of population exploration, there is always a threat for environmental degradation with modern agro-technologies. It is, therefore, necessary to understand the threshold limits above which the environmental degradation is harmful to human kind. This can be achieved if sustainability is considered as a continuous journey rather than a destination. This is particularly true in case of agriculture where there is a tremendous demand for new technologies. In view of this an analysis of the sustainability of rainfield rice production in Eastern India has been carried out as a case study. In Eastern India, comprising the states of Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal, Eastern Madhya Pradesh, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and North Eastern States, rice is grown during South-West monsoon season mainly under rainfed conditions. The productivity of rice is low (1.2-1.5 t/ha) and there is a scope for doubling the productivity of rice in these parts. The second green revolution is expected to take place in rainfed areas in India especially in Eastern India. Based on the time series data of rice productivity and its variability a sustainability ladder concept has been developed for each state in Eastern India. The different districts in each state which fall either below the sustainability ladder or above in rice productivity have been identified. In the districts below the sustainability ladder, there is a need to increase the productivity and for those districts above the sustainability ladder there is a need to stabilize the productivity. The strategies for either increasing the productivity or increasing the stability have been mentioned. The rice productivity in each district, after reaching the sustainability ladder should be increased, in a 2-3 year time frame and then stabilize the same in similar time frame and so on. This type of strategy would be of immense help in increasing the productivity in a sustainable manner. Moreover, once the productivity increased and in the stabilizing period, there would be enough time to developed new technologies or to tune the technologies which have already been developed to fit into this sustainable ladder.

Heinrich Wohlmeyer and Hermann Dissemond have found that the analysis of the effects of world trade in general and on agricultural markets in particular is put into a comprehensive context, in order to gain the scientific coordinates for a balanced judgement. Therefore the study encloses a description of the present world trade order as well as deliberations on the theory of trade and of welfare economics - up to a chapter on ecological economics.

 
S.G. Patil, L.B. Hugar, M.S. Veerapur, J. Yerriswamy, T. Cross, A.C. vanLoon, and G.W. vanLoon have investigated "Measures of agricultural sustainability – a study in South India". They have undertaken a study of factors affecting sustainability of agricultural systems in four agro-ecosystems in the Tungabhadra Project (TBP) area of Karnataka State in South India. The four areas chosen for the study include villages in the head end of the command area (highly irrigated system, HIS), the tail end of the command area (semi-irrigated system, SIS), outside the command area (dry land system, DLS), and in the area supplied with irrigation for the past approximately 500 years by the Vijayanagar Canals (ancient irrigated system, AIS). The aim of the project was to survey a variety of factors related to cropping patterns, water use, physical properties and socio-economic indicators related to the agricultural practices in these areas. Through a holistic approach, They aim to identify and compare factors that relate to sustainability of food production in these areas. In particular They were looking for examples of highly sustainable processes that could be more widely applied. They have selected six categories of indicators of sustainability – productivity, efficiency, durability, stability, compatibility, and equity – that can be taken together in describing each system. These are defined as follows:

· Productivity is measured in the usual way as yield of crop per hectare
· Efficiency is measured primarily in terms of energy use and production, and is the ratio of energy output in the form of crop (both primary material, usually grain, and the additional biomass, such as straw)
· Durability is an index showing resistance to immediate stresses such as stress due to lack of water or to pests
· Stability is defined as the ability to produce adequately over an extended period of time.
· Compatibility is an indicator that relates the farming practices to the natural and human surroundings and includes issues such as biodiversity and human health.
· Equity relates to the need to carry out agriculture in a way that provides benefits to all members of society including landed and landless families, men, women and children.

Within each of the agro-ecosytems, we chose three representative villages. The study involved extensive consultations with at least ten persons involved in farming in each village – collecting detailed data about human, animal, mechanical and material inputs involved in crop production over four cropping seasons (two in the kharif and two in the rabi seasons).

Mapping of crops and natural areas within the villages was carried out. Further interviews with farmers (male and female) related to other practices connected with agriculture were also conducted. Data regarding pesticide use and health effects were obtained. In the biodiversity studies, collection of insects in the four areas was done using pitfall traps, light traps and by sweep netting. Counts, primarily of Homoptera sp. were carried out. A number of soil samples were obtained in order to assess content of major nutrients and other standard properties. Water quality on selected samples was also measured.

Productivity was highly variable in the four regions, but in the HIS, where paddy is the major crop, excellent yields, around 7 t ha-1, were obtained by many farmers. Similar good yields were also observed for farmers in the AIS region and, as noted below, the practices used in the two regions were quite different.

Efficiency was calculated by assessing the total energy content of the crop obtained in each situation. The energy associated with all the production practices including land preparation, sowing, crop maintenance, harvesting, was also determined. The ratio of energy output to input was then calculated. A wide variety of ratios was found. Where crop failures occurred the values were extremely low. For high productivity cropping systems values were much more favourable. Two examples from specific situations illustrate the difference between energy ratios in the HIS and the AIS. In the former case where a yield of paddy of 7.5 t ha-1 was obtained, an efficiency ratio of 0.95 was measured while in the latter system a similar yield, 7.0 t ha-1 was achieved but with an efficiency ratio of 4.1. The difference was due, in large part, to the much reduced use of high energy content inputs such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Durability associated with water stress is clearly enhanced in all the irrigated areas, especially in the head end where water supply is more assured. Durability against stress due to pests is measured by calculating the average number of sprayings required during the cropping season. For paddy, this number was typically about 8 or 9 for the HITBPS, while it was much lower in the AIS. Smaller, but not insignificant use of chemical pesticides were employed in the RFS and in the SIS.

During the brief duration of this project (1.5 years up to the present) it is difficult to make an accurate assessment of stability. However, it was observed that salinity and waterlogging is a problem throughout significant portions of the entire command area. There is much less salinity in the RFS and also in the AIS regions. It is significant that, in the latter case, a low degree of salinity was observed in spite of irrigated agriculture having been practiced over at least five centuries. Breaches in the left bank main canal, which average approximately three per year for also contribute to problems associated with stability of crop production.

Compatibility refers to the relationship between the cropping system and both the natural and human environments. The top figure shows distribution of Homoptera sp. in samples taken from paddy fields in the HIS and the one below, from a field in the AIS that uses organic farming technology .

These and other data show that biodiversity of the indicator species is much reduced in areas where there is a high input of synthetic chemicals. With regard to human health, it is well documented that a significant fraction of hospital admissions in the TBP region are associated with pesticide-related symptoms.

Finally we consider that equity is an issue that must be included in any definition of sustainability. A focus of our study is on the status of women in the villages of the various regions. We will report data assessing their relative health situation, educational opportunities and position with regard to decision making in the home, concerning agriculture, and in the village as a whole.


The interdisciplinary examination of world trade from different points of view led to the following main conclusions:

1. Division of labour does not necessarily lead to increased welfare, due to several reasons:

  • Under conditions of rising marginal costs extreme division of labour can be counterproductive. This is especially the case in the realm of agriculture (law of diminishing returns).
  • Site-bound performances, like securing the living space and the husbanding of cultural landscapes, are by their very nature not open for international division of labour.
  • The closing of material streams – one of the main ecological maxims – demand decentralisation and networking; but the present framework conditions foster increasing spatial concentration of material stream relevant activities and neglect the necessity of material stream cascades and circular oriented processes.
  • The present philosophy of concentration ignores the risk of natural hazards, the vulnerability of centralized supply systems for basic needs and the danger of politically disturbed supply chains.
  • Under conditions of unemployment States tend to "export" this misery by undercutting social and ecological standards. Therefore it should be made clear in Art.VI of GATT (Anti-dumping and Countervailing Duties) and in the "Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of GATT 1994", that the undercutting of social and ecological standards (This is de facto an unjustified subsidisation.) justifies countervailing measures. The same should hold for the distortion of exchange rates and other ways of unfair systems competition, which can be proved. Corresponding clarification should be made in Art.XVI (Subsidies) and in the "Agreement on subsidies and Countervailing Measures" within the Final Act of the Uruguay Round.
  • As long as energy- and transport costs do not tell the truth, because a large part of the costs is externalised, infrastructure is provided free of charge and tax- and liability-privileges are granted, the patterns of division of labour cannot be optimal.

2.    The WTO will not be able to escape the necessity to take regress to the production methods (PPMs), if effective protection of man and the environment shall be ensured. The necessary criteria have to be provided by framework-giving agreements. Such a frame of external Orientation is necessary, because the market is not able to generate them inherently.

3.    Art. XX lit.b of the GATT (necessity to protect human, animal or plant life or health) has to find a wider interpretation. According to present scientific knowledge interpretation should not be restricted to sanitary measures alone, but comprise systems protection (protection of the carrying ecosystems).

4.    Art. XX lit.g of the GATT (measures relating to the conservation of exhaustible natural resources) should be seen as to applying also to the scarce natural resources biodiversity, fertile soils and water .

5.    Within the Non Trade Concerns the acceptance of the issues of long term food security and the ecologically, socially and economically balanced multifunctional cultivation of land have to be seen as conditiones sine qua non.

6.    The study shows, that in the present conflict in world agricultural trade a clash of two cultural strategies of cultivation of nature can be identified.

On the one side poses the small scaled manifold pattern of land cultivation of the old cultural nations (close to nature, circular and site oriented) with a direct re-coupling between man and the ecosystem and on the other side the large scale strategies of land use in the continents which have been colonized and populated by Europeans. The latter are characterized by a one sided maximization of the productivity of labour and to a large extent by a not sustainable pattern of resource consumption.

With respect to the food security for coming generations the question has to be posed, whether the present main stream model of a resource- and area-intensive style of land cultivation, which maximises the productivity of labour, can be seen as future-oriented.

7.    For a sound ecological, social and economic evaluation of the effects of the Uruguay Round the stipulated time span is to short and evaluation criteria have not been elaborated.

Effects in the realm of agriculture take place slower than in industry and not nature-connected services. Without a consensus on the evaluation criteria evaluation degenerates towards a subjective rating in relation to the own wishes. For both reasons a prolongation of the evaluation period is necessary.

8.    Finally it is recommended, that concessions in the field of agriculture should not be made, if it is not agreed, that the protection of man and the environment is incorporated at least at the same level as trade concerns and that a bridging between GATT/WTO and Social and Environmental Agreements is institutionalized. Otherwise the asymmetric and partly destructive dynamics will continue and the world economy would not be directed towards balanced welfare and human wellbeing.









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