Measures to promote the use and
success of family farming in LEDC’s
Head Chair: Liam Galey
The main contention in the recent movements to replace family farming as
a wide scale agricultural system lies in the concern of the alternative
option, corporate farming. When put next to the conventional and
mainstream family farms, corporate farming is seen as both an economic
and a cultural threat, polluting the environment and more open to
corporate manipulation. When considering LEDC’s in particular,
corporate farming poses an even more substantial threat in that it raises
the country’s economy in a corporate and industrial manner, which is
often criticized as
being unauthentic and dangerous
seeing as a politically unstable state
would be even more exposed to economic/
political exploitation. Although corporate
farming would arguably see the LEDC to
quicker economic growth, it is often see as
harmful to the nation in the long run.
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Family Farming: Method of farming in which single farms are owned
and operated by single families. This is as opposed to collectivized
and factory farming.
Collectivized/communal farming: Method of farming in which the
holdings of multiple farmers are run as a joint initiative. Often based
on common ownership of resources and pooling of labor.
Factory Farming: An industrial operation that raises large numbers of
animals for food. Often criticized for prioritizing efficiency and
profitability over human and animal welfare.
LEDC/LDC: Less Economically
Developed Country / Less
Developed Country. Terms
synonymous with “Developing
Country”, an arbitrary label used
for countries with lower living
standards than their “developed”
counterparts. The term “Third World
Country” is considered incorrect in referring to these states.
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Human Development Index (HDI) : A universal, composite
measurement of life expectancy, education, and income used to
rank the human development within a country. Originally
published by the UN. Often taken into consideration when
determining the relative development of a country. *
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Per Capita: A universal, composite
measurement used to determine the aggregate economic output of
a region or state. Often taken into consideration when determining
the relative development of a country. *
* More information
pertaining to the exact
measurements and workings
of these systems is publicly
available.
With the exception of several countries in Central and Eastern
Europe that, in past administrations, had instituted centralized
economies, family farming accounts for well over 90% of all
countries’ agricultural output. In recent decades, this issue has
become of much concern due to the increasing feasibility of
factory farming. Due to shifts in the world economy, and a
worldwide decrease of consumer and taxpayer support being
transferred to the agriculture industry, it has become increasingly
difficult for young entrants of the industry to raise sufficient
capital in order to get started. With these people turning to credits
and loans, the continuation of family farming has become an
extremely difficult, if not necessary, feat. It has been seen as a
much cleaner and more straightforward process for large
corporations, with more than enough capital investment, to enter
the scene and take over.
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Displacement of families who’s land has been bought
over
Air and land pollution
Ethics (animal rights)
Human health concerns (food/treatment of animals)
Corporate management concerns (e.g. tax evasion,
corporate lobbying, corruption already existent in
government or introduction of such, etc.)
The United Nations and the European Union have
been fighting to maintain the traditional family
farming methods in LEDC’s over both collectivized
and corporate/factory farming. They see it as crucial
that developing countries, many of which are often
undergoing political and economic strife, “maintain a
pure and clean economic upbringing”, as UN Secretary
General Ban Ki Moon has put it. In nations that are
already experiencing corruption and economic
difficulties, allowing large, multi-national corporations
to enter the scene is only adding to the mess.
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1800’s: Family farming became an official term used during the
Westward Expansion to describe America’s institution of farming
derived from the Homestead Act
Mid-Late 1900’s: Corporate giants began to focus their attention
on the agricultural industries, much to the unawareness of the
public eye
1971: Farm Credit Act of America institutes a crediting system
incorporating federal land banks and banks for cooperatives.
21st century: Family farming has
finally been acknowledged has a
necessary and dying institution
that must be revived.
2014: UN Generally Assembly declares
2014 the International Year for Family
Farming campaign, with awareness of this an issue at an all time
high.
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The family farming movement , beginning in the mid twentieth
century as corporations began to penetrate the agriculture industry,
has been one mainly of awareness. This is not at all to say that the
only steps that have been and can be taken are public campaigns and
the like, but that the key to sustaining family farms as the backbone of
the agricultural industry is the ability for the international community
to understand the importance of keeping multi-billion dollar
corporations out of the backyard of an economically desperate nation.
Only recently have the United Nations, European Union, and the
World Rural Forum began to make progress in achieving this.
Their biggest “failure”, as it is often
regarded, lies in their allowing many
African governments to give in to the
temptation. Going into the IYFF, never
have family farmers in Africa been more
under threat.
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The first step to ensuring that family farming can thrive is to
eliminate its unhealthy competition. There are two main ways to
limit corporate farming in LEDC’s. The first is to directly check the
extent to which these corporations are able to penetrate a nation’s
agricultural industries through legal means, and the second is to
ensure that said nations are disincentivized from bringing these
corporations in. While the first solution may
provide short term assistance, the
only way to truly rid LDCs’ largest
economics of corporate enterprises is
to affirm that they understand the
significance indenting these franchises
on their own behalf.
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"Farm Sanctuary." Farm Sanctuary. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Aug. 2014.
"General Assembly." International Organization 17.04 (1963): 926.
Web.
"The Importance of Keeping Families on the Farm." N.p., n.d.
Web. 17 Aug. 2014.
"Promoting Family Farming: The European Union ECDPM." ECDPM Promoting Family Farming The European Union
Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Aug. 2014.
"Roger Blobaum." Roger Blobaum. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Aug. 2014.
"Stop Selling off African Land - Invest in Farmers
Instead." Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 23 Jan.
2014. Web. 17 Aug. 2014.
"UN Declares 2014 to Be the International Year for Family
Farming." - AgriCultures Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Aug. 2014.
"What Is a Factory Farm?" ASPCA. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Aug. 2014.