Policy Development
In most developing countries, enabling farmers to compete
in domestic, regional, and international markets requires
improving national policies that affect agriculture. And to
speed up growth and develop free, open markets for food and
other farm products, there will require, in many cases economic,
legal, and regulatory reform. USAID realizes that you cannot
deal with food security and hunger without investing in agriculture
on the policy level.
The past few years have brought significant market liberalization
around the work. Still, in many developing countries incomplete
or inconsistent policy reforms at the national level have
not increased the competitiveness of domestic and export markets.
And this has done little to ensure that small farmers reap
the benefits of global agriculture
Broadly speaking, USAID is working in five areas: monetary
and taxation; privatization of government-run companies; general
business, trade and investment; the legal system and public
institutions; and banking and credit.
USAID is helping governments remove obstacles to trade through
policy reforms in their economic, legal and regulatory sectors.
By reforming policies that encourage agricultural production
and export, countries can speed up their rates of economic
growth and develop freer, more open markets for food and other
farm products. To take advantage of the African Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA) and other opportunities to participate
in the world market, for example, USAID is training the staff
of African finance ministries and their trade offices.
Aside for working with the national governments, USAID is
also involved with the private sector and in promoting research
and policy analysis in developing countries. So that the private
sector can flourish, USAID encourages reforms that promote
increased private investment. In addition, by providing technical
assistance and training to the private sector, farmers, companies,
and industries will be better suited to manage growth. By
supporting innovative ways to analyze trade regulations, USAID
helps developing countries understand how regional and world
trade agreements can affect rural farmers and their agricultural
industries.
Mali serves as a good example to the benefits of policy reforms.
The agricultural development program in Mail has transformed
the country from one that suffered food shortages into one
with substantial food surplus. Over the past 30 years, Mali
has followed a strict program of market liberalization. And
these efforts are paying off. Last year the surplus from small
farmers’ corn harvest in Mali produced a half-million
dollars. Mali has also become an exporter of rice –
due in part to land tenure reform, private investments in
irrigation projects, and the privatization of the rice milling
sector.
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