The development agencies, Trocaire and OXFAM, have condemned the use of EU taxpayer's money to finance over-production of farm produce which is dumped on world markets depressing markets in developing countries. A seminar in Dublin yesterday, attended by many non-governmental agencies, was told unjust trading policies and structures were contributing to the fact that 840 million people go to bed hungry every night.
The agencies pledged to press for a global trading network which made food security a priority. Ms Penny Fowler, of the UK-based Catholic Institute of International Relations, argued that the GATT agreement on agriculture had caused many difficulties for developing countries.
She said EU subsidised exports were disposed of directly in developing country markets where they unfairly undercut local producers, disrupted local food markets and undermined food security strategies based on domestic production.
She added that it was now generally accepted that certain countries and regions would gain from the GATT agreement but others stood to lose.
A 1994 study estimated that three of the world's poorest countries, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Mali faced export losses in excess of 4 per cent per annum as a result of the Uruguay Round of the GATT agreement.
Mr Ned O' Keefe, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food, said the total allocation for Irish Aid in 1997 was £122 million, the equivalent of 0.31 per cent of GNP.
Ireland, he said, now had the fastest growing programme of any donor country.