SCRI Annual Report 2003/2004 - Scottish Crop Research Institute

Director’s Report
grated multinational companies have largely broken
down national differences; their employees usually
have global interests and perspectives. Collaboration
with trade unions to force through protectionist
demands has been weakened, especially as the political
influence of the unskilled and semi-skilled workforce
has declined in relation to their proportion of the total
workforce. Governments have become committed to
multilateral and bilateral agreements. For Europe, the
loss of large swathes of manufacturing, a steady
increase in the numbers of retired people, and a willingness
to purchase and use imported products, lessened
resistance to globalisation in many sectors of the
economy, even in the relatively resilient areas of agriculture
and food. 2001-2002.
Washington Consensus Much criticism during the
year was directed at the “Washington consensus”.
This term introduced in 1989 by the economist J.
Williamson encapsulates the promotion of trade and
FDI, fiscal discipline, reduced subsidies, simplified and
reformed taxation systems, liberalised financial systems,
competitive exchange rates, privatisation, deregulation,
and strengthened property rights. Concerns
were specifically expressed at the imposition of these
policies on LDCs, leading to unsustainable debts, vulnerability
to the excesses of economic cycles, and political
instability. Regulatory failures, corruption, and
unreasonable expectations undoubtedly caused problems
in the inward economies. Although the IMF and
World Bank have been justifiably criticised for their
prescriptive and inflexible impositions and policy
blueprints, and unwillingness to permit longer periods
of economic transition, they are usually only called in
as a matter of last resort (as did the UK, the last MDC
to do so, in the 1970s). At least, it is the case that all
countries now have access to the global capital markets,
and it is the politics of a country that determine
its fate. 2000-2001.
Democracy Complexed with globalisation is the rôle
of democratic governments, and the need for checks
and balances that prevent democracies operating insensitively
as monolithic tyrannies over minorities.
General taxation levels have risen in the MDCs, largely
to fund social protection, defence, infrastructural,
and public-good programmes. Globalisation presents,
however, a challenge for governments in the raised
expectations of the populace (good public services with
low taxes), diminished control over the flow of capital
across borders, ownership transcending national borders,
international comparators that raise malcontentment,
and rapid surveys of public opinions (usually
influenced by the media) capable of changing the direction
of policy. Biologists at least realise that all forms of
diversity affecting human behaviour – cultural, ethnic,
linguistic, political and economic, have their roots in
differential gene expression. Governments are beginning
to realise that a better-informed population tends
to generate contradictory demands and expectations
that in turn create political difficulties. 2000-2001.
Cairns Group An attack on farm subsidies and agricultural
trade tariffs in Europe and Japan was launched
by the 15-member Cairns Group of agriculture
exporters in early April 1988. The Cairns Group,
named after the venue of its first meeting in 1986,
includes Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile,
Colombia, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand,
Paraguay, The Philippines, South Africa, Thailand,
and Uruguay. It represents 550m people and around
20% of global agricultural exports. The views of the
Cairns Group in favouring trade liberalisation by lobbying
against farm subsidies, export credits and trade
barriers, are in accord with developments of the WTO.
The EU has historically argued for exemptions in primary
industries. 1998-1999.
Subsidies Subsidy arrangements in the USA and EU
were elaborated during 2002-2003. In the USA, legislation
enacting supplemental farm spending up to
2007, and multiyear legislation on countercycle farm
support payments, represented substantial increases in
subsidies. Further subsidy support would come from
newly launched environmental protection programmes.
In the EU, the mid-term review (MTR) of the
Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) initially proposed
cuts in subsidies and converting the remaining subsidies
into production-neutral support linked to as-yet-undefined
environmental objectives. This proposal was
rejected in favour of the status quo for most EU countries,
irrespective of strains that may arise with the accession
of 10 states from Central Europe. 2002-2003.
World Food Summit 1996 The World Food Summit
was held in Rome in November 1996, under the auspices
of FAO to discuss global food security, at a time
when 14% of the world’s population suffered from
chronic undernutrition, and more than 80 nations
were classified as low-income food-deficient countries
(LIFDCs). The world is facing a sharp decline in the
supply of tillable land and fresh water per capita. The
Summit released a ‘Declaration on World Food
Security’ that identified the causes and actions to correct
food insecurity. The goal of the anachronistically
lavishly entertained summit was ‘reducing the number
of undernourished people to half their present level no
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