Towards Sustainable Models of Agricultural Development

Dictated by economic traits of progress via free trade agreements and profit-driven capitalism, the global paradigm of Neoliberalism has become the dominant framework of economic development in Latin America since the 90s (Hojman 194). Neoliberalism is a revival of economic liberalism in which government intervention is disapproved within economic sectors, and free and self-regulating competitive markets and the development of capitalist societies are promoted (Thorsen and Lie 2). Introduced in 1989, The Washington Consensus is seen as the template for Latin America’s engagement with neoliberalism. It is as well, an indication of the vast expansion of the ‘USA model’ of economic progress by powerful international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (Grugel and Riggirozzi 4). The neoliberal model was implemented via free market open economy policies (FMOEP), guided by the objective of economic decentralisation. Conditions for private profitability were...Show moreDictated by economic traits of progress via free trade agreements and profit-driven capitalism, the global paradigm of Neoliberalism has become the dominant framework of economic development in Latin America since the 90s (Hojman 194). Neoliberalism is a revival of economic liberalism in which government intervention is disapproved within economic sectors, and free and self-regulating competitive markets and the development of capitalist societies are promoted (Thorsen and Lie 2). Introduced in 1989, The Washington Consensus is seen as the template for Latin America’s engagement with neoliberalism. It is as well, an indication of the vast expansion of the ‘USA model’ of economic progress by powerful international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (Grugel and Riggirozzi 4). The neoliberal model was implemented via free market open economy policies (FMOEP), guided by the objective of economic decentralisation. Conditions for private profitability were established, cutting back the central role of the state within the economic sectors (Geddes 3151). Within the agricultural sphere, Neoliberalism aims for a system in which the control in agricultural production and resources happens via private corporations via profit-driven interests. This contrasts with the prior agricultural model of Keynesian economics, in which state power dominates within the agricultural sector, via the control and active role in the production process (Miyake 380). The spread of neoliberal agrarian reforms in Latin America promoted the framework of international trade and free trade, leading to the birth of the Global Farm Model within Latin America. Following the ideology of Neoliberalism, trade embargoes are portrayed as a restrictive factor on economic progress within the agricultural sector of a country (Betancourt 175). Within the context of Neoliberal expansion, Cuba is an unique exception within the region of Latin America, as it followed an alternative path to agricultural development, away from a neoliberal agricultural model. For more than 50 years, the United States (US) has imposed an economic, commercial, and social embargo against Cuba. This makes Cuba an interesting case study, in the broader context of Latin America and the dominance of Neoliberalism. Within the current ideology of agricultural development, climate change, and environmental degradation, the issue of sustainability has gained momentum in the agricultural sector. Looking through the lens of sustainable agricultural development, this brings the paper to the following research question: What are the economic, social, and environmental impacts of Neoliberalism versus Cuban-style policies on sustainable agricultural systems?Show less

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Towards Sustainable Models of Agricultural Development