Competing narratives for the future of European agriculture: the agri-environmental consequences of neoliberalization in the context of the Doha Round

Whatever their eventual outcome, the current round of international trade negotiations taking place as part of the Doha Development Round offers a clear demonstration of the growing influence of a neoliberal agenda for international agricultural policy reform. Despite being powerfully supported by an alliance of agribusiness interests and country groupings, neoliberalism is far from universally accepted as the model for the future governance of an agriculture which is both commodifying and market led. This paper assesses the nature of the resulting debate and the range of alternative visions being proposed. It analyses the development of the European negotiating stance within the current round of trade talks and compares the merits of a decoupled policy approach to managing the rural environment with one much more closely linked to the practice of farming. The paper concludes by suggesting that an outcome of the continuing liberalization of agricultural policy will be a more demarcated countryside, in which productive and internationally competitive operators will increasingly be removed in space and in terms of policy treatment from the large number of economically marginal producers whose role will be to supply the public environmental goods under contract from the state. KEY WORDS: WTO, neoliberalism, multifunctionality, rural governance