THE GLOBALIZATION OF AGRICULTURE: IMPLICATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY OF SMALL HORTICULTURAL FARMS

To globalize means to make worldwide in scope or application. We live in a global ecosystem; in this, we have no choice. Increasingly, all nations of the world share a global culture, a consequence of past choices. And, the economy has become increasingly global as well. However, within the global ecosystem are boundaries, which give form and structure to natural systems. Within the global culture are boundaries, which define different human values and perspectives of reality. And within the global economy are boundaries, which allow nations to reflect the differ¬ences in their natural ecosystems and social cultures in the structure and functioning of their economies.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) appears committed to removing all “barriers” to international trade, to achieve “free trade,” and thus, to removing all “economic boundaries” among nations. Once the economic boundaries are removed, cultural boundaries will become further blurred, and ecological boundaries will be left open to economic exploitation. Cultural and ecological diversity are considered obstacles to economic progress. A truly global economy will allow greater geographic specialization, greater standardization of processes and products, and thus, will allow global corporations to achieve even greater economies of scale.
In a global agricultural economy, small farms will be replaced by large farms, which in turn will be controlled by giant multinational corporations. Small farmers quite simply will not be able to compete in a “free market” global economy. Many small farmers of the world rely on horticultural crops for their viability. Thus, the implications of globalization may be even more dramatic for horticulture than for most other agricultural sectors. But even more important, ecological and cultural boundaries are essential to the long run sustainability of agriculture. Thus, if all economic boundaries are removed, human life on earth, at least as we know it, will not be sustainable.