Palestine, Venezuela... Albin Kurti aligne la position du Kosovo sur celles des États-Unis, mais comment le petit État peut-il trouver sa place dans le nouveau désordre mondial ? Son existence même résulte d'un consensus transatlantique, réunissant l'Otan et l'Union européenne. Belgzim Kamberi en discute avec l'analyste politique Agon Maliqi.
- Articles / Courrier des Balkans, Kosovo, Relations internationales, USA Balkans, Israël-Palestine , Relations régionales, Questions européennes, Kosovo Vetëvendosje, Une - Diaporama, Une - Diaporama - En premierAfrica has become import-dependent for staple food cereals over the past five decades. It is an ongoing dispute if increasing import dependency in Africa is causing food security risks for its population fueled by recent increases of uncertainties around international trade caused by geopolitical tensions and global trade policy disruptions. We call for an all-African approach based on regionally coordinated domestic support policies to increase Africa’s self-sufficiency and reduce international imports. We argue that the recent trend towards self-sufficiency as the overarching goal is not a sufficient strategy to improve food security because domestic support policies distort markets, increase prices, and set wrong incentives. Trade distorting policies risk undermining the benefits of regional and international trade for food security because often only trade can provide an efficient insurance mechanism against local supply shocks. A regional policy coordination is required for country-specific policy decisions framed by an all-African trade policy framework to balance production and imports primarily at the continental level. If a food self-sufficiency approach — for political reasons — is to be pursued, it should be in a way that is less distortive of the domestic and regional markets.
Africa has become import-dependent for staple food cereals over the past five decades. It is an ongoing dispute if increasing import dependency in Africa is causing food security risks for its population fueled by recent increases of uncertainties around international trade caused by geopolitical tensions and global trade policy disruptions. We call for an all-African approach based on regionally coordinated domestic support policies to increase Africa’s self-sufficiency and reduce international imports. We argue that the recent trend towards self-sufficiency as the overarching goal is not a sufficient strategy to improve food security because domestic support policies distort markets, increase prices, and set wrong incentives. Trade distorting policies risk undermining the benefits of regional and international trade for food security because often only trade can provide an efficient insurance mechanism against local supply shocks. A regional policy coordination is required for country-specific policy decisions framed by an all-African trade policy framework to balance production and imports primarily at the continental level. If a food self-sufficiency approach — for political reasons — is to be pursued, it should be in a way that is less distortive of the domestic and regional markets.
Africa has become import-dependent for staple food cereals over the past five decades. It is an ongoing dispute if increasing import dependency in Africa is causing food security risks for its population fueled by recent increases of uncertainties around international trade caused by geopolitical tensions and global trade policy disruptions. We call for an all-African approach based on regionally coordinated domestic support policies to increase Africa’s self-sufficiency and reduce international imports. We argue that the recent trend towards self-sufficiency as the overarching goal is not a sufficient strategy to improve food security because domestic support policies distort markets, increase prices, and set wrong incentives. Trade distorting policies risk undermining the benefits of regional and international trade for food security because often only trade can provide an efficient insurance mechanism against local supply shocks. A regional policy coordination is required for country-specific policy decisions framed by an all-African trade policy framework to balance production and imports primarily at the continental level. If a food self-sufficiency approach — for political reasons — is to be pursued, it should be in a way that is less distortive of the domestic and regional markets.
There is increasing recognition that significant hidden costs associated with agrifood systems are not reflected in market prices. Coffee is among the three most traded agricultural commodities in the world and supports the livelihoods of more than 30 million smallholder households. This study quantifies the environmental and social hidden costs of coffee value chains in three countries in Eastern Africa (Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania) to guide interventions to address them. We apply and refine simplified True Cost Accounting (TCA) methodologies to quantify environmental hidden costs associated with climate, soil, water, and biodiversity, as well as social hidden costs associated with child labour, gender inequality, and the living income gap. We use the marginal damage cost approach of Lord (2023) to monetize externalities and quantify significant social and environmental hidden costs that add up to USD 5–7 per kilogram of coffee. These hidden costs equal 70%–125% of the farm gate price for Arabica and about twice the farm gate price for Robusta, relative to average prices at the time of the surveys. Hidden costs associated with the living income gap constitute the largest share, particularly in Ethiopia. Large variations in hidden costs across different production systems and regions underscore the importance of detailed value chain assessments to take action to address these hidden costs.