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agriculture | farmers | food

Comesa developing agro-processing sector strategy
9-Mar-2011
COMESA is developing an agro-processing sector strategy in partnership with the International Trade Centre under the All-African Caribbean Pacific Agricultural Commodities Programme.
Negotiating trade agreements must not jeopardise EU’s agriculture
9-Mar-2011
When negotiating international trade agreements, the European Commission must stop making concessions that can adversely affect European farmers, says a European Parliament resolution approved on Tuesday. MEPs warn of the effects of the trade talks with Mercosur and criticise the recent agreement with Morocco.
Vilsack calls for deal’s early ratification to increase agricultural exports
8-Mar-2011
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Tuesday called for early ratification of the pending free trade deal with South Korea, expressing hope that the deal will greatly increase shipments of U.S. agricultural products to South Korea.
Ag groups urge Senate Finance Committee to act FTAs for Korea, Colombia, and Panama
8-Mar-2011
In advance of a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Wednesday, March 9, with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, the American Soybean Assn. (ASA), along with other representatives of the U.S. food and agriculture industry, reiterated support for swift passage of the pending U.S. trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama.
Free trade: US corn flows south, Mexico exports men
2-Feb-2011 McClatchy
"The government [of Mexico] didn’t so much pull the plug on corn. The government pulled the plug on family farmers who grow corn because the big guys who grew corn got massive subsidies and protection from imports," said Jonathan Fox, an expert on rural Mexico at the University of California at Santa Cruz.
FMD ― a manmade disaster
20-Jan-2011 Korea Times
Free trade agreements aggravate the animal pandemic further by preventing one country from rooting it out fundamentally because of mandatory import and consumption of foreign meat products.
JA at crossroads / TPP, agriculture can coexist / But reform of huge farming federation is unavoidable
18-Jan-2011 Yomiuri Shimbun
The success or failure of advancing Japan’s trade liberalization while strengthening the agricultural sector will largely hinge on the prospects for reforming agricultural cooperatives, known as JA.
South Korean farmers protest against free trade agreement with US
9-Dec-2010 NTDTV
South Korean farmers staged a protest on Wednesday, urging their government to abolish the US- South Korea free trade agreement.
Stalled trade pact with Europe leaves exporters exposed
3-Dec-2010
Kenya’s fish and horticultural exporters face another year of uncertain trade relations with Europe, putting billions of shillings at stake.
NFU puts trade, supply management on agenda
3-Dec-2010
Terry Boehm is having a busy week. The president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) just returned on Tuesday from a trip overseas, landing at the forefront of the NFU’s 41st annual convention, which starts today in Saskatoon. About 250 people from across the country are expected to attend the yearly event, which covers a range of issues from free trade to green initiatives.
S. Korea not to discuss beef but to focus on auto trade; Minister Kim
29-Nov-2010
South Korea will focus on autos and is not ready to discuss beef during the upcoming talks with the United States for the ratification of a pending free trade deal, the chief South Korean trade negotiator said Monday.
Farm reform panel eyed for FTAs
28-Nov-2010 Japan Times
The Japanese government said Friday it will set up a task force to discuss agricultural reforms as it seeks out more free-trade agreements with other economies.
Farm groups renew call for S. Korea trade pact
25-Nov-2010 Capital Press
The Korea FTA would lift live US hog prices by $10 per animal and generate an additional $687 million in US pork exports, the National Pork Producers Council argues.
US pork feeling impact of Mexican trucking dispute
23-Nov-2010 American Agriculturalist
The National Pork Producers Council reports US pork exports to Mexico have fallen 20% as a result of the failure of the US to comply with a provision of NAFTA that allows Mexican trucks to haul goods into America.
Spanish farmers object EU tomato deal in Western Sahara
22-Nov-2010 WSRW
The EU could be signing an Agricultural Agreement with Morocco that also covers the territory of Western Sahara. The Spanish farmers demand that the agreement be stopped.
TPP could expedite farm reforms
16-Nov-2010 Japan Times
Japan’s agriculture industry is in the spotlight as a result of the government’s interest in a US-backed trans-Pacific free-trade agreement that could scrap high tariffs on heavily protected products such as rice.
EU-Morocco agriculture agreement (2009)
16-Nov-2010 PE
Japan’s farmers oppose Pacific free-trade talks
12-Nov-2010 NYT
Atsushi Kono considers it the gravest threat to his family’s farm in a century of rice-growing: a free-trade initiative that could dismantle Japan’s sky-high protective farming tariffs, finally opening up the country to cheap, foreign produce.
Japan farmers protest free trade as APEC meets
10-Nov-2010 Reuters
Thousands of Japanese farmers rallied on Wednesday to demand their government steer clear of a US-led free trade initiative which would open the heavily protected agricultural sector to fierce competition.
Thousands in Japan protest new free trade agreement
10-Nov-2010 CNN
An estimated 3,000 Japanese farmers converged in Tokyo on Wednesday to protest against Japan joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, which would destroy Japanese agriculture and community