Italy: Day 5 (FAO)

January 8, 2018This morning we visited FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States) again for a morning of speakers and lots of reports, data sources, web sites, policy briefs, and graphics that they presented. Today's prompt for my class asks what sources will be most valuable to my major, future career/internship, for the final paper and for other courses on campus.One topic that was highlighted that I had never really considered prior to this trip was the impact of trade on food security and agriculture. Low-income countries account for a very small share in global trade, but agriculture trade is extremely important for their GDPs and global agriculture. Agriculture is the largest employer of the world's poor, most of whom live in rural areas.Trade impacts food security through the four facets of food insecurity: availability, access, utilization and stability, and has positive and negative impacts across the board. There are several agreements that are relevant to trade including the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), SPS Agreement, TBT (Technical Barriers to Trade), TPA (Trade Facilitation Agreement) and other WTO negotiations. The underlying question - that has proven difficult to solve - is how do we boost agricultural productivity and ensure decent farm incomes without harming public good? As economies of developing countries grow and become more engaged in international trade, what challenges and opportunities does greater exposure to trade provide for farmers, especially smallholder farms? FAO acts as a neutral source in supporting trade negotiations and policy with information, technical advice, guidance and evidence of possible consequences to its member-countries.FAO produces SOFA, the State of Food and Agriculture report, as a credible, relevant and accessible source for governments, media and civil society. This year's report focused on the topic of "Leveraging Food Systems and Inclusive Rural Transformation." The report showed that:

• People have the option of escaping poverty and staying in rural areas.
• Stronger links between rural areas and small cities/towns can lead to more dynamic growth of economic opportunities.
• Economic growth in rural has helped millions escape poverty.

Food and agricultural policy is also complex with considerable political economy issues, competing objectives, numerous policies, institutions and regulations, and potential for trade-offs and synergies between objectives. One of our speakers highlighted the importance of understanding the policy landscape in order to implement policy, and as someone interested in legislation, I found this talk particularly relevant to my future ambitions and current major in science and agricultural journalism.Overall, I found the discussions about trade, rural development and the policy landscape to be the most interesting for my major and my interests post-graduation. I am working for Missouri Corn Growers' Association this summer as a policy intern and understanding the policy landscape and how to map the institutional architecture will be important in my efforts to advance corn policy at the state and federal level. For the Italy study abroad course we are writing papers (my group is writing about Yemen, conflict resolution and food insecurity!) and I think all of these discussions will be pertinent to the final project.