I'm not a farmer. And I'm not an expert on the WTO either. But I did grow up on a farm and I do know a little bit about global trade and the effects it has had on small, freeholding, peasant farmers. Still, take all this with a big dollop of salt.

I wanted to write about this after reading Don's comment and question about farming in Cambodia.

He asked: "I can't help but wonder what effect big ag (cheap industrial food) has played on the abandoned farm land you describe." All I can add are my observations. And a kind of question. As far as I know, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos have signed on to the WTO, but they have not agreed to any of the agricultural components of the global free trade system. I think that's why they gave the big industrial economies the finger several years back in Mexico, or in Doha. I can't recall exactly which one it was. Regardless, farming, from what I have seen (and that's a damn lot of the countryside) has not been corporatized or industrialized in the region. There is some in Peninsular Malaysia, but Malaysia is a bit of a rogue when it comes to economics in the region.

More after the jump.

Farming in South East Asia is still the province, by and large, of small farms. And it is also one of the key reasons food is so cheap here. I can eat a wonderful meal for less than $2 in most places. Although Cambodia is a bit different because the tourist trade and international aid has inflated the economy in very deleterious ways. Sure, a fried tarantula only costs $.05, but a meal in a mom and pop joint is still $3-$5. Compare that to the price of food in Saigon or Vientiane or even Chiang Mai and you get my drift.

I had a conversation with a man in Chiang Mai about the price of food relative to the price of everything else and he said that the Thai government had a formal policy of supporting small farmers so that the price of food remains cheap, that they remain on the land and not flood the cities in search of higher paying industrial work as they do in so many other Asian countries. I don't know if what he said was true, as to the specific policy, but it made sense. And it appears to be roughly the same in all the countries (excepting Cambodia) I've visited so far. (Note, Vietnam does have a huge industrial seafood industry.)

As a result the food here in Asia is both very fresh and very cheap. Small farms dot the landscape everywhere. Small farmers are to be seen in the main markets selling their crops. There are no supermarkets to buy food. It's all done at a very local, as we would say in the US, coop, level. Is the life of a farmer very pleasant? I don't know. But I am planning a home-farm stay in Indonesia, so I will let you know. Is this the right way to do it? Well, knowing what I know of America's state of health and the poison they sell us everywhere in the form of high fructose corn syrup I would have to say, "yeah." But that would be a very tentative judgment, awaiting my visit to a real farm, where I will work and participate in the harvest of rice. (I've done this before in China and it is very fascinating, if back-breaking.)

But, as for Cambodia. I think part of the reason food in Cambodia remains so high is demand outstrips the supply. I've seen immense amounts of land laying fallow. It reminds me of the countryside in some of the former East European countries after the fall of Communism, where the people fled the collectivized farms as soon as they could. If I could find someone that spoke decent English and knew more about it I would ask. But all I have to go on now is what my eyes tell me. And what they tell me isn't real good. One note, the areas of Cambodia that seem to be the most underfarmed are those along the Vietnamese border--for obvious reasons as they were bombed into oblivion and UXOs remain a very real hazard. And also those areas which were former Khmer Rouge strongholds. Many still haven't recovered. And remember, it's only been about a decade since Pol Pot died. The scars remain.