Tackling rural poverty, together

Jim Harvey

Head, Profession, Livelihoods and Environment Groups, Department for International Development (DFID), London

Though several steps removed from WTO talks, DFID is ‘key influencer’

Jim Harvey started as a volunteer on a research station in Botswana in the 1970s, where the station chief regularly patrolled the perimeter fence on horseback and lectured staff about the neatness of their field plots. Almost quaint-sounding today, this post-colonial experience was followed by tougher stints in what he calls “the real world of development”, including Western Sudan and the Middle East. Since 1990, he has worked for the Department for International Development (DFID, usually spoken as a word, ‘diffid’), a UK government department charged with managing Britain's aid to poor countries. DFID is headed by a senior Cabinet minister, reflecting the importance Britain attaches to global poverty alleviation. It has some 2,800 staff, almost half of whom work abroad, and an annual budget of around $6 billion. DFID combines a decentralised, demand-oriented approach with innovative, knowledge-based policies and business-like pragmatism, a culture that has extended the organisation’s influence into policy areas beyond aid and helped shape Britain’s role in global affairs. Jim Harvey, a member of the Global Donor Platform Steering Committee, discussed lobbying, the nature of ‘bilaterals’ and trends in development assistance with Timothy Nater in London.

Nater: What can advocates for increased investment in agriculture and rural development do to achieve a positive conclusion to the Doha Round?

Harvey: Bilaterals like DFID are already working through their respective government channels. Of course, we’re at several steps removed from the front lines. Trade is a competence of the European Commission, and within the UK government the ministry leading on trade is the Department of Trade and Industry, or DTI.

But DFID does have a key role to play in influencing progress. Our aim is to achieve a successful outcome of the Doha Round by the end of 2006. We lobby in support of our developing-country partners through the UK government to influence the EU, US, and other WTO members. We’re particularly concerned with better market access for agriculture, clothing and textiles and other industries where developing countries have a comparative advantage. We want more ambitious reductions in domestic agricultural subsidies and are actively promoting policies for food aid that are developmentally beneficial.

Some research suggests that the gains from opening up agricultural trade would accrue mainly to better-off developing countries like Brazil, Thailand and Argentina. Many of the poorest countries would gain little, and rapid market opening could even worsen the livelihoods of their own poor farmers. Do you agree?
That's difficult to say, but in the longer term, I believe that markets for agricultural exports from poorer countries will grow. Capacity-building for trade is key. We're helping to prioritise support to the least-developed country group to ensure that their views are heard in trade negotiations. We’re active with the ACP group of countries in trying to secure additional transitional sugar assistance. And we’re working alongside the DTI to persuade India, Brazil, South Africa and China to support poorer developing nations, and that includes encouraging these four countries to open their own markets.