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Sharad Joshi

It is but fitting that the World Agricultural Forum should be headquartered in St. Louis, the heart of American agriculture. Its third biennial Congress provided the right platform for representatives of the farm sector to convey the clear message that barriers to trade, technology and sustainability must be removed for the world to realise its full potential, says Sharad Joshi.

TO lovers of literature, the town of St. Louis is associated with that all-time great humorist Mark Twain. To lovers of aviation, St. Louis is a place of pilgrimage because it is from here that the two Wright brothers flew off their little skeletal airplane named The Spirit of St. Louis. The colossus of the Arch in St. Louis marks the point from where the Americans moved westward in a spirit of adventure and in search of new lands and gold.

St. Louis is not a large city. Covered by lush green grass and darker green forests, it looks like an extended village sans skyscrapers and the downtown buzz. The fact remains that it is the 18th largest metropolitan area, ranks sixth among the US cities and is home to Fortune 500 companies.

Abundantly endowed with Mississippi waters, St. Louis is at the heart of American agriculture. Its industries include agriculture, aviation (Boeing), and the headquarters of major biotechnology, food and beverages manufacturers. There is no problem connected with pre- or post-harvest agriculture that St. Louis scientists are not familiar with.

It is only understandable that the World Agricultural Forum (WAF) that provides a Davos-like arena for discussions, free from all political and business influences, should have its headquarters at St. Louis. The WAF is coming of age and recently held (May 18-20) its third biennial Congress.

Eminent personalities from all fields relating to agriculture were present. There were farmers, financers, food processors, exporters, researchers and, even, non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Some NGOs opposed to globalisation, liberalisation and technology had planned Seattle-like demonstrations in front of the Congress venue. Understandably, on the first day, there was tension in the air. The demonstrators were quickly whisked away by the police and they did not even make an appearance on the second and third days.

Even a cursory glance at the list of those who came to deliver keynote addresses gives an idea of the galaxy of stars present. Dr Norman Borlaug, the Nobel laureate; Dr Lennartbag, President, International Fund for Agricultural Development; Mr Harbison, Deputy Director-General, WTO; Mr Raisbeck, Vice-Chairman, Cargill; and Dr Pedro Sanchez, co-Chairman, United Nations' Task Force on Hunger 2002, appointed by Ms Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations.

Since this Congress, the reins of the WAF have passed into the hands of Honourable James B. Bolger, three times former Prime Minister of New Zealand. The calibre of the experts present at the discussions was equally breath-taking.

The WAF had set, after considerable deliberation by its Advisory Board, a very clear and simple agenda for the Congress: "Working together to create the future and dismantle the barriers".

The world today produces more food than at any time in history. There are, nevertheless, 800 million people, mainly in the developing countries, who are starving. Further, of every 100 children born in an hour in the world, 94 are in the poorer, developing world.

Providing food, fibre, fuel, water and sustenance for this rapidly expanding global population is a formidable task. Dr Norman Borlaug himself provided the theme for the Congress: "Action, action, action".

There was a general recognition among the participants that, "mankind has the means, resources and knowledge that are required for coping with this situation; what is lacking is political will to allow free play of the factors involved. There are too many barriers on trade, too many subsidies in the developed countries, too much subsidisation of exports, dumping in other countries, non-trade barriers, sanitary and phyto-sanitary restrictions which make it difficult for the world to realise its best potential".

Many who took part in the Congress were harsh about the tendency of the developed countries to maintain and enlarge their high levels of subsidies.

Some compared such behaviour to Mr Saddam Hussein's surreptitious development of weapons of mass destruction. Inordinate subsidies can have lethal effects on the agriculture of partner countries.

Technology is yet another area where the potential for feeding humanity is enormous, but for the artificial barriers sought to be created to impede its spread. Since the beginning of technology, the lazy, the obscurantists and the dogmatists have done their worst to stop the flow of time. Every time the anti-technologists have lost.

They still make good business and questionable reputations for themselves. Their opposition can only be a short-term phenomenon. Education of the man in the street, of policy-makers and the media will be sufficient to take care of the fruitless haranguing of the anti-technologists' brigade.

Freedom of trade and freedom of technology are linear functions. The greater the freedom, the better the results. On the other hand, maintaining sustainability of agriculture will require balanced and optimal decisions.

Dr Borlaug clearly stated that it was impossible to feed the growing numbers of humanity with organic inputs alone. We might need to balance the various resources so that the environmental balance, particularly the water cycle, does not get unduly disturbed.

Briefly removing barriers in trade, technology and sustainability is the message that has come from the place where the pioneers ruggedly set forward on their "Westward Ho" and from where the Spirit of the St. Louis soared to cross first the Atlantic.

(The author is founder, Shetkari Sanghatana. Feedback can be sent to

sharad@mah.nic.in)

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