Agricultural Trade and Policy

Agriculture provides more services to society than producing food. Also goods and services which cannot be directly sold or consumed are produced in agriculture.

Agriculture provides different goods and services to global society. Besides the provision of food, agriculture also provides public goods such as, for example, beautiful landscapes and contributions to biodiversity. Based on this background, several industrialized countries support their farmers with the explicit goal to produce these so called positive externalities.
Agriculture still is the most important employer and often the only source for food and income in developing countries. Thus, the agricultural policy in third world country differs from most industrialized countries since governments primarily have to ensure that prices for agricultural products remain on a level that farmers can generate adequate income but at the same time food must be affordable for people living in the cities.

Governments can use different tools to guide agricultural production and trade of food, e.g. tariffs or subsidies. To prevent damage caused by these tools, it is necessary to know their impacts on home and foreign agriculture as well as on agricultural markets. The lectures listed below impart this knowledge.

AFEE scientists working in the Agricultural Trade and Policy field:

Dr. Robert Jörin

Courses on Agricultural Trade and Policy