Background
All over the world, in countries both rich and poor, farmers are unable to survive or make a living. Why? Prices are too low—a result of overproduction spurred by US and European farm and trade policies that create unfair trading conditions.
Rich countries spend more than $300 billion every year in government pay-outs in the agriculture industry. Some of these payments are in the form of subsidies that give large producers large profits and encourage overproduction. The excess is "dumped" on international markets, where it is sold for less than it costs to grow. This dumping drives down prices and destroys the livelihoods of millions of farmers in poor countries that cannot subsidize growers and are forced to open their markets to foreign communities.
Since many poor communities rely on agriculture, unfair trade and farm policies that allow dumping are a major reason for poverty. If local farmers can’t compete with the cheap imported commodities, they cannot afford housing, education, and food–basic necessities–and must leave their lands, their families, and migrate in search of jobs.
Unfortunately, the costly farm subsidies don’t really help most small farmers in the United States either. Family farmers in the US are going out of business at a rapid rate, while industrial-sized farms reap the benefits. More and more of the food we produce in the US is controlled by a smaller and smaller number of companies. This trend is limiting farming opportunities in rural America, too.
US agricultural policies are outdated and need to be reformed. One opportunity will come through the Farm Bill, which expires next year. As Congress begins to look at what needs to be changed, Oxfam is joining a coalition of diverse voices putting forth a new vision of US agricultural policy that shifts taxpayer dollars to programs that truly help rural America, like conservation and rural development, while preventing the harmful effects of dumping.