To create a level playing field, agricultural subsidies in developing countries needed to be abolished and government interventions, mainly input distribution, processing facilities and parastatal marketing boards, that were perceived to ‘distort the market’, were privatised. In most developing countries the private sector was virtually non-existent and dominated by ‘powerful’ elites, among them politicians; thereby effectively contributing towards increased poverty and inequality. Ultimately, liberalized trade did not and could not benefit small scale farmers and agri-business entrepreneurs in developing countries in the absence of an enabling environment for farmers and SMEs involved in agri-business.
[1] WB document trade liberalization