Ploughing Up the Farm: Neoliberalism, Modern Technology and the State of the World's Farmers

by Jerry Buckland

Overview

The past twenty years - the period of 'neoliberal globalization'- has seen an erosion of farmers' livelihoods and food security around the world. Increasing reliance on markets and modern technology has not generated universal farm affluence. This book brings together an impressive array of statistical evidence to show that neoliberalism has brought about rural depopulation in the North, rising rural poverty in the South and environmental problems all around the farming world.

Beginning in the 1980s, neoliberal ideology and accelerated globalization shaped farm policies worldwide. Markets, the cornerstone of neoliberalism, were said to provide higher prices to farmers. But evidence shows that farmgate prices during this period have stagnated. Moreover, market-driven growth has encouraged production of agricultural exports and growing use of chemical inputs. Since world farm prices have been in decline, the consequences for food security and the farm environment are, to say the least, questionable.

Neoliberal globalization is also premised on expanding international trade into the realms of agriculture and intellectual property. Evidence shows that trade liberalization - implemented mainly through structural adjustment programs and the WTO - is often biased against Third World farmers and small farmers everywhere. The power of transnational corporations in agricultural trade and farm technology has grown by leaps and bounds. Evidence shows that the corporate-driven GM-food revolution has had little positive effect on farm livelihoods or food security. To arrest these trends, Jerry Buckland calls for farm policies founded on farmer-led food security and a democratization of the global institutions that have had such detrimental effects on the world's farmers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781842773673
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	07/01/2004
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.59(d)

About the Author

Professor Buckland worked in an agriculture research programme for an international NGO in Bangladesh from 1986-1990. Since 1994 he has taught international development studies (IDS) at Menno Simons College at the University of Winnipeg. He is also a faculty member of Canadian Mennonite University.
Professor Buckland worked in an agriculture research programme for an international NGO in Bangladesh from 1986-1990. Since 1994 he has taught international development studies (IDS) at Menno Simons College at the University of Winnipeg. He is also a faculty member of Canadian Mennonite University.

Table of Contents

Preface

1. The Declining State of the World's Farmers
The Importance of Farmers
The Erosion of Farmers
Key Periods
Neoliberal Policies

2. Farm Erosion: Population, Poverty and Environment
Farm Saturation and Depopulation
Pushing Farmers Out: Farm Poverty and Inequality
The Eroding Farm Environment
Conclusion

3. The Farm Market Squeeze
The Farm Price Squeeze
The Farm Production Squeeze
External Inputs Raise Crop Production
Conclusion


4. Farm Trade and Trade Liberalisation
Farm Trade
Contemporary Strategies of Farm Liberalisation
Regional Economic Agreements and the WTO
Conclusion


5. The Technology Treadmill

Technology, Institutions and the Farm
The Rise and Fall of Public Institutions and the Green Revolution
The Gene Revolution and the Rise of Transnational Corporations in Agriculture
Conclusion


6. A Farmer-Led Approach to Food Security

Putting First Things First
International Support for Farmer-Led Food Security
Conclusion

Bibliography
Glossary

Appendix
Key
Organisations Working with Farm Health and Food Security Issues

Editorial Reviews

This thorough and illuminating examination of the farming crisis is long overdue. Jerry Buckland applies fresh eyes, sound data, and rigorous analysis to the paradox of deepening poverty among the world's food producers. The book addresses questions that need urgent solutions: why small farms and agricultural biodiversity are sacrificed in the name of progress; why powerful countries and public institutions promote a free market in agriculture in the South but protect rich Northern markets; why large agribusiness corporations will not solve the food insecurity of the poor; why technology can be a trap rather than a solution. Buckland tackles complex economic and political questions with a wealth of evidence and convincing logic. His clear prose sweeps the reader through the intricate world of international trade and global politics. The argument for a re-visioning of food policies in the context of healthy societies and environments is compelling and should be compulsory reading for policy makers. This book is a must for all concerned with farming, food, poverty or development.” —Barbara Dinham, Pesticide Action Network UK

“A tour de force. It presents a comprehensive analysis of problems facing global agriculture, the perverse workings of the market and corporatization in this sector, and suggests possible solutions for sustainable agriculture with a human face.” —John Loxley, author of Alternative Budgets: Budgeting as if People Mattered and former Chair of the Board of the North-South Institute

“An authoritative and highly readable account of one of the most crucial issues of our time. Its thorough analysis, facts and figures will make it a valuable source book.” —John Madeley, author of Food for All: the Need for a New Agriculture

From the Publisher