Facilitating Smallholder Farmers’ Market Access
In the OIC Member Countries
14
Consistent with the changing structure of economic production, agricultural trade—
incomes and exports—becomes less important compared to other types of trade
. Some of the case studies demonstrate that agriculture is often a sticking point when
trade agreements are negotiated, but trade in agricultural products is rarely a significant
share of total trade once
countries reach middle-
income status.
As incomes grow and
populations become more
urban, the composition of
diets tends to change. To a
degree, people living in
wealthier countries
consume more calories in
total, but the average
differences are not large
. Instead, their
diets start to feature more
meat and horticultural
products, fewer cereals,
and fewer starchy roots
and tubers like potatoes
and cassava.
A larger difference, which is harder to show in a graph, is that markets and agribusinesses
become more important with urbanization. Farmers in poorer countries often consume a
significant share of what
they produce, but some of
the case studies
demonstrate that when
urbanization gains
momentum, more people
start to purchase food in
supermarkets and fast-food
restaurants. Throughout
this transition, government
has an increasingly
essential role in ensuring
that both the infrastructure
and regulatory framework
are in place to keep food
safe, enabling all farmers to
participate in agricultural
value chains, and ensuring
FIGURE 4: AGRICULTURAL TRADE AS A SHARE OF TOTAL
MERCHANDISE TRADE DECLINES WITH ECONOMIC GROWTH
Source: FAOSTAT (FAO 2014).
FIGURE 5: COMPOSITION OF DIET BY TYPE OF ECONOMY,
2009
Source: FAOSTAT (FAO 2014).