Environmental regulations and red tape are having a major impact on food production and security the world over despite international recognition of the precarious food supply situation, according to the head of a global farm lobby group.
Zambian dairy and cropping farmer, and president of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP), Ajay Vashee, told the National Press Club yesterday that farmers were increasingly being asked not just to produce food, but provide a range of ecological services to society.
He said though that this was having an impact, particularly in developing countries, on food production and the ability of those nations to trade because often they could not afford those services meaning trade would flow to other, mostly developed, nations.
IFAP held its annual conference in Canberra this week with representatives of 115 farm lobby groups from 82 countries representing 600 million farmers in town to talk about common issues affecting the world's farmers – namely climate change, trade, animal welfare and food security.
Mr Vashee said last year's food crisis was "a wake up call for national governments worldwide".
He said in the space of only two years, world grain markets moved from a substantial surplus to a substantial deficit, demonstrating "how fragile the world's grain markets really are".
He said the present instability was unprecedented and pushed the food security back onto the international agenda.
He said IFAP leaders have been calling on governments to re-engage with farmers and their organisations in order to develop new national long-term plans for agriculture, ensure world food security for consumers and secure livelihoods for producers throughout the world.
Mr Vashee said last year's food price rises have not benefitted farmers in the way they should have.
"To read the press, farmers were supposed to be having a bonanza," Mr Vashee said.
"But instead many farmers were going out of business, especially in the livestock sector.
"Grain and oilseed farmers are being forced to cut down on the use of fertiliser because of cost increases, especially in developing countries.
"Thus we have food shortages on one hand, and farmers are reducing production owing to high input costs on the other."
Mr Vashee said the push for ecological services and environmental regulation was particularly affecting developing countries who wanted to participate in trade.
He said environmental regulations were being pushed by developed nations which have the disposable income to dedicate to the environment.
"By virtue of having these policy requirements it is becoming a challenge for farmers in developing countries to meet these kinds of requirements."
Mr Vashee said farmers must be rewarded for these non-food ecosystem services and it should not be taken for granted that farmers bear such costs on their own.
He said carbon markets should be appropriately designed so that farmers can be part of the solution.
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