23 September 2020, Rome - Global agri-food trade has more than doubled since 1995, amounting to $1.5 trillion in 2018, with emerging and developing countries' exports on the rise and accounting for over one-third of the world's total, according to a new report issued today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets, 2020 (SOCO 2020) argues that global trade and well-functioning markets lie at the heart of the development process as they can spur inclusive economic growth and sustainable development, and strengthen resilience to shocks.
"We need to rely on markets as an integral part of the global food system. This is all the more important in the face of major disruptions, whether they come from COVID-19, locust outbreaks or climate change," wrote FAO Director-General QU Dongyu in his introduction to the report.
The rise of global agri-food value chains
The report estimates that about one-third of global agricultural and food exports are traded within a global value chain and cross borders at least twice.
The rise of global value chains is driven by income growth, lower trade barriers and technological advancements, which have transformed markets and trade processes, linking farmers to traders and consumers across regions and countries.
"Global value chains can make it easier for developing countries to integrate into global markets. As they link our food markets closely, they also provide a mechanism to diffuse best practices to promote sustainable development," said the FAO Director-General.
In turn, by participating in global value chains, smallholder farmers can boost their food production and income. On average and in the short term, a 10 percent increase in agriculture's global value chain participation can result in an increase of around 1.2 percent in labour productivity, finds the report.
Smallholder farmers, however, are often missing out on the benefits of global value chains. Furthermore, the emergence of global value chains with the stringent food quality and safety requirements could further marginalize smallholders.
"We need to redouble efforts to include smallholder farmers in modern food value chains, thus securing rural incomes and food security in both rural and urban areas," said Qu.
To achieve this, there is a need for broad policies to create an environment that enables markets to flourish and bolsters smallholders' participation in global value chains - for example, better rural infrastructure and services, education and productive technology.
Digital technologies can help markets to function better and can improve farmers' access to them. Innovations, such as food e-commerce, can benefit both farmers and consumers. However, to guarantee that the dividends of digital innovation are shared with the poorest, the current digital divide in agriculture needs to be reduced.
The adoption of more inclusive business models, such as contract farming and blockchains, can also help farmers to better integrate into modern and more complex value chains.
For example, participation in contract farming can increase farm income by more than half - based on an analysis of main studies on contract farming. The report underlines, however, the overall lack of information on the different impacts of contract farming, apart from its impact on farmers' welfare.
How can agricultural and food markets foster sustainable development?
The report makes the case for the role agri-food markets can play in fostering sustainable development.
It argues that the promotion and wider application of voluntary sustainability certification schemes and standards in agriculture, for example, can address trade‑offs between economic, environmental and social objectives.
Sustainability certification schemes can promote fair trade, inclusion, non‑discrimination, and environmentally-friendly farm practices. They also can ensure occupational safety, ban child labour, and encourage investments.
For instance, according to data from smallholder coffee farmers in Uganda, sustainability-certified families spend 146 percent more on child education and keep children at school longer than non‑certified families.
Another study on certification schemes that promote sustainable forests show that the production of forest shade-grown coffee in Ethiopia can help alleviate forest degradation.
The report also points out that whilst bananas are one of the most traded tropical commodities in the world, only an estimated 5-8 percent are covered under sustainability standards.
The evolution of trade and markets - trends and drivers
About SOCO 2020
The report covers four areas: trends in agricultural and food markets; global value chains in food and agriculture; farmers and value chains - business models more sustainable growth; digital technologies and agricultural and food markets.
The SOCO 2020 report was launched at a virtual event today with the participation of Director-General Qu Dongyu; the United States Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue; the Minister for Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development of South Africa, Thoko Didiza; the Parliamentary State Secretary of Germany’s Ministry for Food and Agriculture, Hans-Joachim Fuchtel; the Chairperson of the FAO Committee on Commodity Problems, Gustaf Daud Sirait; the Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Alan Wolff; and the Undersecretary for Agriculture and Rural Development of Mexico, Miguel Garcia Winder.
Speakers highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of ensuring the flow of food supply chains at global, regional and local levels. They agreed that food trade is a critical tool for development and economic growth, and that innovation and digitalization offer new opportunities to increase market activity and facilitate integration of smallholder farmers into modern and more complex value chains.
The meeting was also attended by representatives from Canada, Sri Lanka, the European Commission and the University of Bocconi (Italy). The video of the high-level event can be accessed here.