Mozambique wants rich nations to stop giving their farmers subsidies so that African food goods can can compete fairly on the world market, Mozambique’s Industry and Commerce Minister said on Thursday.
”Each cent given as a subsidy to a farmer in a developed nations leads to a loss of many cents by farmers in our countries, deepening poverty as a result,” said Carlos Morgado at a forum of business leaders from Portuguese-speaking nations in Lisbon.
Morgado said the subsidies granted farmers in wealthier nations eliminated the natural competitive advantage African nations have in the production of various agricultural goods.
His comments came as EU farm ministers met in Luxembourg on Thursday to mull changes to the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy, which pays out some 40-billion euros ($39,4-billion)a year in subsidies to farmers.
The European Commission is expected to unveil on July 10 proposals to revise the policy, including reductions in direct farm subsidies.
But with the Bush administration set to raise by $190-billion over 10 years its subsidies to US farmers, Brussels has indicated it can not eliminate farm aid altogether.
EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler said in an interview published Tuesday in German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung ”without aid, European farming would be devoured by international competition”.
Last year the EU farm budget totaled 43,6-billion euros, of which 9,4-billion euros went to French farmers, and 6,8-billion euros to Spain.
Another 6,2-billion euros were distributed for German farmers, four billion euros for their British counterparts, and 1,1-billion euros in the Netherlands. – Sapa-AFP