AGRICULTURE POLICIES AND THEIR EFFECTS ON WORLD FOOD SECURITY, 1994-2010

Though an everyday harsh reality for more than a billion people, the concept of food security has recently entered the mainstream as a result of crises experienced worldwide in 2008. Current production and trade dynamics do not seem to be aiding the development of a more food secure world, and in the opinion of many, are leading the way into a future of great risk. One of the primary arguments is that the modern, industrial production dynamics are unsustainable environmentally and rely too heavily on technological innovation to solve their woes. Furthermore, it is crowding out a highly undervalued and tradional unit of sustainable production: the small-hold farmer. This is leading to a significant drag on world development, increasing urbanization of the poor and adding to the burden of unemployment in urban areas and causing an important, multi-functional system of agricultural production to be pushed to the margins of society when it should be pushed to the center. This paper will discuss the role of the small hold farmer in the context of contemporary food issues and the effects market forces, agricultural policies and trad