Insecure food supplies

Farmers outside intensive farming regions are also affected by the power of large corporations – such as farmers who grow products such as maize or soya for animal feed. In these cases, large agricultural corporations can control markets and drive prices down. They can also insist on a certain level and consistency of supply, which affects the viability of small producers. Dumping of factory-farmed products in developing countries also creates unfair competition for national farmers.

In many areas, subsistence food production is hampered by lack of access to capital, land and water. At the same time, more favoured growing areas are used for commercial production of feed for industrial livestock destined for wealthy urban consumers and lucrative export markets.

When local farmers take up the production of cash crops for export, this impacts upon the region’s food security, as local production for local consumption is replaced by imports that are dependent upon unstable foreign markets and price variations.