United States President Barrack Obama has signed a deal to
spend almost $1 trillion on a new five-year farm bill.
About 80 per cent of that is not for farmers, but for food
stamps and other subsidies under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP).
The farmer portion of the legislation takes away “direct
payments” that went to farmers on a per-acre basis, regardless of what they did
or did not grow on the land, but increased subsidies for crop insurance and
price-support levels for rice and peanuts.
The “direct payments” program was initiated seven years ago
to comply with a World Trade Organization requirement that subsidies not
encourage over-production of a specific commodity.
At the time there was global concern that U.S. farm
subsidies led to over-production which was dumped into global markets at depressed prices, making it difficult for farmers in other countries to realize
a reasonable return for their farming efforts.
The U.S. is among a number of wealthy countries that is
standing in the way of a new world trade agreement that would improve the
global market for poor farmers in poor countries.
The U.S. wants improved access to markets for its financial
services and manufactured goods. Others, such as India, are resisting that
pressure which comes not only from the U.S., but also others.
