By Macaulay Jones, Senior Policy Advisor Climate Change, Trade, Forestry, Science & Innovation
It’s hard to promote New Zealand’s championing of removal of the tariffs and other barriers that plague the international free trade of food products when our nation pursues other policies that bewilder, if not seriously irk, the world’s farmers.
Let me explain….
Last week I was privileged to represent Federated Farmers of New Zealand at the annual Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) and the 15th Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Conference , participating in the International Young Farmers’ Forum. The Young Farmers Forum is made up of 20 farmers and young professionals from all over the world and it was fantastic to meet and exchange ideas on “Food Systems Transformation: A Worldwide Response to Multiple Crises”.
The GFFA is an international conference that focuses on central questions concerning the future of the global agri-food industry and is held yearly at the beginning of the International Green Week (IGW). The forum gives representatives from the worlds of politics, business, science and civil society an opportunity to share ideas and enhance their understanding on a selected topic of current agricultural policy.
At the YFF we tossed around ideas and views on food security, biodiversity, climate change, the role of trade and the structure of agriculture value chains. While there are multiple challenges facing global food systems, I firmly believe that when enabled through innovation and science-based policies, the world’s farmers, and young farmers, are up to the task.
The fundamental priority of food security and the urgent need to address the current crisis was an ongoing theme throughout the GFFA and IGW. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy delivered a powerful speech over video to the Minister’s conference in which the impact on food security of the Russia-Ukraine War was a central issue.
I also attended a high-level panel discussion on the potential benefits of repurposing agricultural subsidies and support to deliver climate benefits. The panel discussion moderator quickly noted that removing domestic support for agriculture and opening up agricultural markets was not on the agenda. While the removal of agricultural subsidies in New Zealand in the mid-1980s delivered climate benefits and led to NZ farmers producing more from less, there remains very little appetite for this from many countries and farming organisations worldwide.
It was encouraging from a New Zealand perspective to hear the UAE Minister HE Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri highlight the vital role trade plays to the food security of the UAE. This, however, was the exception to the rule and throughout the conference the long-debunked food miles’ myth and preference for domestic food self-sufficiency were prominent.
All New Zealand agriculture stakeholders must continue making a strong and science-based case for the economic, social and environmental benefits of the open trade of food. Partnering with like-minded countries, such as Cairns Group members, is a powerful means of highlighting that open trade and subsidy removal can benefit diverse countries.
Many conference attendees I spoke too were surprised to learn that New Zealand did not subsidise food production and even more surprised to learn that Federated Farmers of New Zealand were not advocating for the return of subsidies. It is one thing for Governments to promote the benefits of subsidy removal and open trade, but it is much more powerful when this message is reinforced by farmers themselves.
Much like COP27, I could not help but be struck by the contrast between the many international policies promoted by governments worldwide to reduce agricultural emissions and the policy to mitigate agricultural emissions proposed in New Zealand. I didn’t hear any talk of pricing agricultural emissions at the GFFA or IWG, and indeed, no discussion of pricing agricultural emissions to the extent that food production is reduced and the financial viability of family farmers is threatened. It was refreshing to hear multiple speeches about the importance of ensuring that policies designed to reduce agricultural emissions take a holistic approach to other environmental issues, work with farmers, and not harm food security. As advocated by Federated Farmers, policy change is needed to ensure that New Zealand’s climate policy adequately considers such critical factors, with current ETS forestry settings and the proposed agricultural emissions price being two glaring examples of policies in need of reform.
And back to what I opened with: Frustratingly, I found that efforts to promote New Zealand’s approach to trade were undermined by glaring examples of poor policies that are very unpopular with farmers. Reducing agricultural subsidies and lowering barriers to trade are seen as radical policies by many farmers and governments globally. It is difficult to argue that such an approach is the right thing to do when New Zealand is also home to many other policies currently harming the agriculture industry.
Two prominent examples of poor policy in New Zealand are: artificially incentivising the wholesale exotic afforestation of productive farmland, and the proposed policy of pricing agricultural emissions to the extent that farmer profitability and food production are significantly reduced. While no agricultural organisation in New Zealand is advocating for the return of subsidies, it was tough to argue that New Zealand has an agriculture policy template that other countries should follow when farmer confidence is at a record low and numerous unworkable policies are being legislated for.
New Zealand’s efficient, unsubsidised farming systems are the envy of many farmers and governments around the world. It is frustrating that while other countries are working hard to help their farmers approach the competitiveness of New Zealand’s farming systems, numerous domestic policies are reducing the international competitiveness of farming in New Zealand.
Many of the significant challenges facing agriculture are global crises, such as in food security, climate and biodiversity. So to be most effective, a coordinated international approach to tackle these challenges is needed. To this effect, to bolster New Zealand’s credibility at international fora, avoiding emissions leakage and increasing food production should be prioritised in domestic policy. Without such changes, ‘repurposing’ rather that ‘removing’ subsidies will be the approach many countries will take and this is not in the interest of the environment, farmers or consumers.
