In a project from Limagrain, Euralis, Union In Vivo and La Coop Fédérée agricultural cooperatives, the Momagri think tank has addressed the issues of volatility of agricultural prices, the instability of agricultural markets, agricultural policies and the readability of agricultural strategies.
Momagri presented two key findings at the International Summit of Cooperatives in Quebec.
The first was on the nature of price volatility and how this has shifted since the early 2000s. This shift has led to a considerable increase in “extreme events”, which are price fluctuations in agricultural markets resulting in strong upward or downward variations.
In an example regarding wheat prices, the report said that between 2008 and 2014, there were 50 more extreme events than between 2002 and 2008, and double that of the period between 1996 and 2002.
The issue comes, said the report, from the fact that “only relevant agricultural policies can manage these extreme variations, which are disruptive for both farmers and co-operative businesses”.
The second key finding concerned the conflicting aspects of agricultural policies in terms of support procedures and allocated budgets. To address this, Momagri presented the SGPAA indicator (Global Support to Agricultural and Food Production), which has been designed to enable comparisons and standardised assessments of the public support of agriculture.
Such a standardisation is, according to the report, “crucial for multilateral and bilateral negotiations”.
- For more updates from the 2014 International Summit of Cooperatives, click here
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