Preparing the grassroots for WTO accession
As a political priority, negotiations for WTO accession are proceeding at a brisk pace and accession is predicted for mid-2005. Accession will bring opportunities and challenges and nowhere will these be felt more, than in the agriculture sector, as has been the case with other agrarian economies the world over. Indeed, the effect of WTO accession on agriculture has often been political disturbance and upheaval. Agriculture dominates much of the debate on international trade - it is commonly attributed as a key factor in the failure of the Cancun negotiations and is widely seen as the key to tying up the Doha Development Round.
With the poorer 60% of Viêt Nam's workforce and 23% of the national output linked to this sector, it would seem logical that preparations for accession should look at supporting the rural population through this process. Surprisingly this has not been the case. Preparation seminars have focused on large companies in urban areas. The logical conclusion to draw from this is that come accession, the emerging disparities between urban and rural areas will only be exacerbated.
This has not gone unnoticed by the Global Programme.
With the support of the Vietnamese political authorities at every level, the Global Programme and UNDP Viêt Nam are assisting the Ministry of Trade in drafting a short and concise text on one side of A4 that will explain in simple and easy-to-understand Vietnamese the likely impact of WTO accession, what can be done to prepare for it, where more information can be found and how the poor can be given more voice in this process.
This text will be distributed to every village in the country, thereby reaching 80 million people, and will be followed up with community information sessions.
Once the text is approved by the authorities, distribution and followup will be ensured by the Viêt Nam Cooperative Alliance, that already regroups 80% of the rural population. The Vietnamese business community will assist in the printing costs. The Cooperative Alliance will also ensure follow-up activities in the communes.
The outcome from this activity will be two-fold. The poor, which to a large extent are represented in rural areas, will be better informed of and prepared for accession. At the same time, Viêt Nam's trade negotiating team will be able to claim the active and democratic support of its 80 million citizens, giving it much a stronger hand in the process.
WTO accession will only benefit the country as a whole if it is supported by every level of society. Involving the grassroots in this process is essential.
For more information please contact ian.richards@unctad.org
