European farm support was slammed for damaging the development of poor countries at a recent European Parliament hearing.

The joint meeting of both the agriculture and development committees heard from agricultural and development experts who rounded on the current farm policy for damaging developing economies, the environment, causing migration and potentially causing radicalisation.

Removing milk quotas was blamed for hindering poor nations own dairy sectors. Adama Diallo, chair of UMPL-B (national union of mini-dairies & producers of local milk from Burkina Faso) said his country has the potential to develop their dairy sector but it is hindered by the supply of cheap bulk milk from the EU.

West Africa has seen milk imports rise to around 300,000t in 2017. Diallo blamed EU farm polices for creating imported food dependency and undermining their economy, causing migration and radicalisation.

Environmental degradation

Production linked support was next in the firing line at the committee session. Maria Blanco, professor of agricultural economics at the University of Madrid said coupled support created artificial demand for animal feed leading to environmental degradation as developing countries use up land to provide food for EU animals to eat.

Small-scale farmers

Olivier De Schutter co-chair of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems said that the EU should not try to feed the world and shouldn’t out compete small-scale farmers growing for their local market.

He stressed that the EU has an obligation “to help each region of the world to feed itself”.

Harald von Witzke, agricultural economist and former chair for International Agricultural Trade and Development at Humboldt University, was heckled by MEPs when he offered a different view stating “low productivity is bad for the environment”. He went on to say it was bad for climate change, biodiversity, and the preservation of natural habitats. Before going on to say that EU food production was good for the poor and hungry in developing countries.