The government needs to ‘empower’ farmers in the current volatile price market, according to Wayne Jones, head of the Agriculture and Development Division of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Addressing the Oxford Farming Conference, Jones said: “It is harder to set out policy in agriculture as there is a larger number of smaller players than many other industries. Government needs to empower farmers to manage these risks and be able to identify it.”
He also expressed concern over the huge price fluctuations occurring worldwide with oil prices rising by over 600| per cent in two years, hitting the transportation industry hard.
“Price volatility is, without doubt, the biggest risk in agriculture. But environmental, financial and policy risk is also important. [There is a] good outlook for the next 10 years but it will be a bumpy ride and the risk is growing. You should ask yourself, am I doing enough to manage the risk? The developed world do shift volatile price problems abroad to try to ensure price stability,” he said.
Jones said the decline in popularity of large stockholdings has allowed an increase in price variability but suggested necessarily change the price of the final product.
Second generation biofuels may eventually be produced from non-food crops and even municipal waste Jones suggested that production of it is likely to double in the next ten years.
The OECD is funded by 30 developed countries worldwide and works to provide economic analyse to different sectors and organise policy discussions.
Jones also said he awaited a decision with interest following the UN’s demands for $30 billion (£19.7bn) to help developing countries to improve production for food security. “As incomes have increased the quality as well as quantity [in developing countries] has improved to higher protein diets,” he said.
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