Download or read book The Effects of International Trade Liberalization on Food Security and Competitiveness in the Agricultural Sector of Botswana written by Howard Kgalemang Sigwele and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Access to adequate and nutritionally balanced food to achieve a productive and healthy life for all individuals, on a daily basis, has been an elusive challenge in several parts of the world. In many developing countries such as Botswana, increasing per capita food consumption has been hampered by poverty as well as poor access to marketable skills and employment opportunities. Experience and studies elsewhere indicate that international trade liberalization based on comparative cost advantage in the goods sectors, can greatly improve per capita food consumption through improved export market access and reduction in tariffs. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of international trade liberalization on food security/household welfare and the competitiveness of the agricultural sector in Botswana. In undertaking this study basically two hypotheses were made. Firstly, it is hypothesized that trade liberalization within SACU through the reduction of agricultural tariffs on food commodities can improve per capita consumption by reducing domestic food prices. Currently, products like maize grain, beef, dairy and wheat grain attract an import duty which partly increases their domestic prices within SACU. Poor households in Botswana, in particular, spend a disproportionate share of their disposable income on food most of which is imported. Secondly, this study also hypothesizes that improved market access of agricultural exports for Botswana based on WTO rules could generate additional foreign earnings that could be used to import more food. Globally, agricultural trade is characterized by distortions that restrict free commerce based on comparative advantage. Direct producer price and input subsidies together with export subsidies to farmers especially in major trade players like the EU, USA and Japan constitute barriers to trade and disadvantage developing countries like Botswana which have comparative advantage in several farm commodities. Subsidies by major industrialized countries create an artificial comparative advantage for their farmers as without direct farmer assistance, it is doubtful if some of them could invest in agriculture! Secondary data on international trade and social accounting matrix (SAM) were used in this study. Trade data were used to conduct policy simulations in order to determine the effects of trade liberalization on food security and competitiveness of the agricultural sector in Botswana. SAM data for 1993/94 were modified and used to generate income and price multipliers to undertake policy simulations. Data from SAM captures the income and demand linkages in the economy. Using partial equilibrium and economy-wide approach (SAM multiplier analysis), this study shows that Botswana can improve its household welfare or per capita food consumption through an increase in export earnings which in turn could be used to import more food at competitive prices. Except for meat products especially beef, Botswana is a net-importer of most food items. Based on a partial equilibrium agricultural trade policy model, this study found that the country's agricultural sector enjoys global comparative advantage in beef exports if there was global trade liberalization. The model advocates for the reduction of direct producer price, input and export subsidies in the agricultural sector by WTO members. Beef earnings including those from other goods like textiles and minerals are used to purchase imported food to increase domestic supply. Through a SAM income multiplier analysis, policy simulations on improved export market access for beef and textiles indicated that households, factors and activities gained from global trade liberalization. However, poor households without assets or factors such as capital and skills marginally benefited from improved export market access. This finding also indicates the potential negative income distributional effects which require policy support to benefit poor households during trade liberalization. Beef and textiles exports were chosen when undertaking policy simulations based on improved market access. With a SAM price multiplier analysis, policy simulations based on SACU tariff reduction on maize grain, beef, powdered milk and wheat grain was made. Applied tariffs were used for policy simulations. A reduction in tariffs not only improves household welfare, factors and activities also benefit through lower domestic food costs/prices. This study found that SACU tariff reduction indeed contributed to welfare improvements among households in Botswana as their cost of living declined. Poor households, in particular, benefited most from tariff reduction in imported food commodities. Factors including low-wage workers also gained from a reduction of import duties on selected food commodities. However, government loses tariff revenue when import duties are cut while producers of exports enjoying preferential markets such as the beef producers in Botswana lose when trade-distorting agricultural subsides are removed/reduced. Like government, consumers of imported food items are, in short term, adversely affected by an increase in food prices following the reduction of trade-distorting agricultural subsidies (producer price, input and export subsidies). The results of the SAM price multiplier analysis also indicated limited price/cost transmission in the economy following tariff reduction. Limited price transmission or circular flow of cost reduction in the economy imply weak competition in the market, poor information dissemination, institutional rigidities, etc hence the need for an effective competition policy and law. An effective competition policy and authority minimizes unfair trading practices and provides consumers and the economy with choice and possibly maximum net-value for money. In addition to improving welfare and reducing cost of living, etc, this study also found that when policy simulations/shocks were made, income and demand linkages in the economy were identified. In some simulations the linkages demonstrated a strong circular flow of income/price transmission while in others the multiplier effects were weak indicating limited economic integration/competition, a policy challenge that requires efforts for sustained diversification. Based on the results from SAM multiplier analysis, this study has provided Botswana with useful information to design policies that enhance economic integration and diversification. To maximize her benefits from international trade liberalization, Botswana also needs to implement complementary policies to address supply-side constraints and improve infrastructure, competition, information technology, etc. Safeguard mechanisms are still necessary to protect the agricultural sector and the economy in Botswana from unfair trade practices including market failure.
Download or read book The Effects of International Trade Liberization on Food Security and Competitiveness in the Agricultural Sector of Botswana written by Howard Kgalemang Sigwele and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 628 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Implications of Agricultural Trade Liberalization for the Developing Countries written by Antonio Salazar Pessôa Brandão and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1993 with total page 45 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global trade liberalization-- reducing both negative and positive protection in line with the Dunkel proposal-- would gain developing countries an estimated $60 billion a year.
Download or read book Reforming Agricultural Trade for Developing Countries written by Alex F. McCalla and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2006-11-09 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the ongoing Doha Development Round of World Trade Organization negotiations, developing countries have had much greater leverage, due at least in part to their large and growing share of world trade. But will the increased influence of developing countries translate into a final agreement that is truly more development-friendly? What would be key ingredients in such a final outcome of the negotiations, and what would the developing countries really get out of it. This two volume set seeks to answer these questions. This volume (Volume 2) addresses the question of how a development-friendly outcome to the talks would affect developing countries by quantifying the impact of multilateral trade reform. It presents several different approaches to modeling the effects of the outcome of negotiations, and then investigates why these (and other) modeling efforts produce such divergent results. Volume 1 is issues-oriented. It takes up some key questions in the negotiations, setting the stage with a historical overview of the Doha Development Agenda to help identify issues of most significance to developing countries, and then explores select issues in greater depth. Aimed at policymakers and stakeholders, this two-volume effort puts into the public domain important analytical work that will improve the chance for a pro-development outcomes of the Doha round negotiations.
Download or read book Agricultural Trade Liberalization in a New Trade Round written by Merlinda D. Ingco and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2001-01-01 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Annotation This collection highlights the main trade issues of importance to different regions of the world.
Download or read book Agricultural Trade Liberalization written by Ian Goldin and published by Paris, France : Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development ; Washington, DC : World Bank. This book was released on 1990 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Based on an international symposium held in Paris from 5th to 6th October 1989 ... jointly organised by the World Bank and the OECD Development Centre ...".
Download or read book Agricultural Trade Policy and Food Security in the Caribbean written by Deep Ford and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2007 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agricultural trade is a major factor determining food security in Caribbean countries. In these small open economies, exports are essential, whilst imports provide a large part of the food supply. This book examines various dimensions of trade policy and related issues and suggests policies to address trade and food security and rural development linkages. It is as a guide and reference documents for agricultural trade policy analysts, trade negotiators, policy-makers and planners in both the public and private sectors.
Download or read book Trade Liberalization in Agriculture written by Devinder Sharma and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book World Trade Organization s Trade Liberalization Policy on Agriculture and Food Security in West Africa written by Emeka Charles Iloh and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study explores the link between WTO,Äôs trade liberalization policy on agriculture and food security in West Africa. Specifically, it investigates whether the policy undermines food security in the subregion by examining its impacts on food importation and food dumping. The study relied mainly on documentary evidence. Data were scooped from documents and annual publications of the WTO, UNCTAD, FAO, ECOWAS, and World Bank. Data were analysed using content analysis, rooted on logical deductions. The results of data analysis show that the increased dependency on international trade (as being championed by the WTO) by many countries in West Africa has a number of direct and indirect implications on the realization of food security in the subregion. Importation not only exposes producers and consumers to increased vulnerability both to worsening terms of trade and to fluctuations in commodity prices, but also exposes the domestic food-producing industries to danger of extinction through steep competition. The study also found that relying on international trade for food supply encourages dumping of the excess products on developing countries at relatively cheaper prices. This harms domestic production and reduces the income of domestic farmers and other investors in the food production chain.
Download or read book The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020 written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2020-07-01 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Updates for many countries have made it possible to estimate hunger in the world with greater accuracy this year. In particular, newly accessible data enabled the revision of the entire series of undernourishment estimates for China back to 2000, resulting in a substantial downward shift of the series of the number of undernourished in the world. Nevertheless, the revision confirms the trend reported in past editions: the number of people affected by hunger globally has been slowly on the rise since 2014. The report also shows that the burden of malnutrition in all its forms continues to be a challenge. There has been some progress for child stunting, low birthweight and exclusive breastfeeding, but at a pace that is still too slow. Childhood overweight is not improving and adult obesity is on the rise in all regions. The report complements the usual assessment of food security and nutrition with projections of what the world may look like in 2030, if trends of the last decade continue. Projections show that the world is not on track to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030 and, despite some progress, most indicators are also not on track to meet global nutrition targets. The food security and nutritional status of the most vulnerable population groups is likely to deteriorate further due to the health and socio economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report puts a spotlight on diet quality as a critical link between food security and nutrition. Meeting SDG 2 targets will only be possible if people have enough food to eat and if what they are eating is nutritious and affordable. The report also introduces new analysis of the cost and affordability of healthy diets around the world, by region and in different development contexts. It presents valuations of the health and climate-change costs associated with current food consumption patterns, as well as the potential cost savings if food consumption patterns were to shift towards healthy diets that include sustainability considerations. The report then concludes with a discussion of the policies and strategies to transform food systems to ensure affordable healthy diets, as part of the required efforts to end both hunger and all forms of malnutrition.
Download or read book Poverty Reduction and Changing Policy Regimes in Botswana written by O. Selolwane and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-01-02 with total page 447 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of how Botswana overcame the legacies of exceptional resource deficiency and colonial neglect, to transform itself from one of the poorest nations of the world to a middle income economy. Contributions review how economic, social and institutional policies interacted to produce successful poverty reduction.
Download or read book Trade Liberalization written by Romain Wacziarg and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This compelling two-volume collection presents the major literary contributions to the economic analysis of the consequences of trade liberalization on growth, productivity, labor market outcomes and economic inequality. Examining the classical theories that stress gains from trade stemming from comparative advantage, the selection also comprises more recent theories of imperfect competition, where any potential gains from trade can stem from competitive effects or the international transmission of knowledge. Empirical contributions provide evidence regarding the explanatory power of these various theories, including work on the effects of trade openness on economic growth, wages, and income inequality, as well as evidence on the effects of trade on firm productivity, entry and exit. Prefaced by an original introduction from the editor, the collection will to be an invaluable research resource for academics, practitioners and those drawn to this fascinating topic.
Download or read book Why Has Africa Become a Net Food Importer written by Manitra A. Rakotoarisoa and published by John Donald. This book was released on 2011 with total page 85 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Farming Systems and Poverty written by John A. Dixon and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2001 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A joint FAO and World Bank study which shows how the farming systems approach can be used to identify priorities for the reduction of hunger and poverty in the main farming systems of the six major developing regions of the world.
Download or read book The Impact of Trade Liberalization on Botswana s Beef and Maize Sectors written by N. H. Fidzani and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book OECD FAO Agricultural Outlook 2021 2030 written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2021-07-05 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Agricultural Outlook 2021-2030 is a collaborative effort of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. It brings together the commodity, policy and country expertise of both organisations as well as input from collaborating member countries to provide an annual assessment of the prospects for the coming decade of national, regional and global agricultural commodity markets. The publication consists of 11 Chapters; Chapter 1 covers agricultural and food markets; Chapter 2 provides regional outlooks and the remaining chapters are dedicated to individual commodities.
Download or read book Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization A Framework for Africa written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2019-03-13 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This framework presents ten interrelated principles/elements to guide Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (SAMA). Further, it presents the technical issues to be considered under SAMA and the options to be analysed at the country and sub regional levels. The ten key elements required in a framework for SAMA are as follows: The analysis in the framework calls for a specific approach, involving learning from other parts of the world where significant transformation of the agricultural mechanization sector has already occurred within a three-to-four decade time frame, and developing policies and programmes to realize Africa’s aspirations of Zero Hunger by 2025. This approach entails the identification and prioritization of relevant and interrelated elements to help countries develop strategies and practical development plans that create synergies in line with their agricultural transformation plans. Given the unique characteristics of each country and the diverse needs of Africa due to the ecological heterogeneity and the wide range of farm sizes, the framework avoids being prescriptive.
