Restrictions make it hard for Africa's farmers to export and earn cash,writes Declan Walsh in Nairobi
The lavish farm subsidies enjoyed by Irish farmers are not officially on the agenda of the World Summit in Johannesburg, but the issue is very much on the minds of many delegates.
During yesterday's open debate, several speakers criticised rich countries for giving one billion euro in subsidies every day to their farmers, six times as much as they give in foreign aid.
"Can we take a piece of this billion dollars a day that European and north American farmers are getting and put it toward ending hunger and poverty in the developing world?" Prof Pedro Sanchez of the University of California asked to loud applause.
The comments reflect a rapidly swelling debate on the role of trade in tackling Third World poverty, a heated argument that directly links supports to rich Northern World farmers with the wretched living conditions of poor farmers in the South.
African countries argue that if they are to achieve "sustainable" development - the aim of the World Summit - they must work their way out of poverty. With low education rates and vast tracts of fertile land, farming is the most logical industry.
But while Africans can produce food both abundantly and cheaply, selling it into the lucrative markets of the West is a different matter. A high wall of tariffs, quotas and subsidies keeps European and American farmers in business by keeping cheaper imports from the Third World out.
Campaigners say that while Western countries publicise openly their donations of development aid, they are unwilling to compromise on these tough protectionist policies that prevent African nations from moving towards self-sufficiency.
"The West has policies that give with one hand, then take with the other," said researcher Kate Raeworth of Oxfam, which has spearheaded an intensive "fair trade" campaign this year. The development agency estimates that if countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America could increase their share of world trade by just 1 per cent, 128 million people could be lifted out of poverty.
For instance, Ireland is one of the most generous nations in the world. The Government has pledged to donate 0.7 per cent of GDP to foreign aid by 2007, a lofty UN target attained by only a handful of rich countries. But Ireland is also a dogged defender of EU farm protectionism.
However, critics say the campaigners ignore awkward political realities. They offer few ideas about alternative incomes for Western farmers and fail to stress that developing countries also erect barriers themselves which must also be removed.
The trade debate has come to the fore this year, partly on the back of a high-profile joint trip to Africa by the Irish rock star Bono and the US Treasury Secretary, Paul O'Neill, last May. The unlikely duo - who became known as the Odd Couple - toured four African countries. Bono pushed for increased aid and debt relief while Mr O'Neill encouraged African countries to embrace global trade.
However, the American advocate of free markets came in for some embarrassing criticism. Just as the trip was taking place, the US government was introducing a new farm bill, which boosted subsidies to American farmers by $35 billion. Several African officialscriticised Mr O'Neill for preaching what his country was unable to practise. Many European countries continue to produce at unrealistically high prices while African countries struggle to sell their cheaper product abroad.