If you are ticked off at the French, dont go punishing African farmers!

American is set to torpedo a French plan which would ban the dumping of subsidised farm produce in African markets.

America spends more subsidising their cotton farmers than they spend per year on aid for the entire African continent. While American cotton farmers flood the world with cheap cotton, 10 million people in west Africa depend on cotton growth for a living. A typical African small farmer will make about $300 a year.



The European Union is also guilty of subsidising their farmers, through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Europe is now the world's biggest exporter of white sugar, which keeps countries such as Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique out of the European market and African farmers in poverty. The EU also dumps subsidised milk and wheat on markets from Kenya to Senegal, while restricting imports of African produce.



The French have proposed a moratorium on all subsidies of produce that are sold in Africa but it looks as if the plan will be scuppered in Washington: The US says its export credits should be exempt.



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