ISLAMABAD, July 24: Research institutes lack the capacity to provide vital information to the negotiators at the World Trade Organization (WTO) talks to ensure maximum benefits to the country in various trading agreements.

This was observed by experts on Sunday at the launch of four studies — Impact of trade liberalization on agriculture; Power-cracy in WTO a case study: Arm twisting of Pakistan, prepared by Dr Wajid Ali Pirzada; Special Products in WTO: Pakistan perspective, prepared by Roshan Malik; and cultivation of Bt Cotton: Pakistan’s experience.

These studies were commissioned and published by ActionAid Pakistan.

Dr Pirzada in his study on the impact of trade on agriculture maintained that trade liberalization would create many losers but there would also be some winners. Among them will be corporate giants which control three-forth of the world trade in cereals.

He said these companies depend upon (subsidized) access to surpluses in Europe and North America and upon access to the Third World markets to sell these surpluses. The report said that the agreement on agriculture is threatening and undermines sustainable agriculture growth, agricultural biodiversity and rights of small farmers and communities, particularly in the South.

The implications for rural poverty and food insecurity in the South are enormous, the report said and feared that exposing rural producers to global markets under these circumstances posed a serious threat to rural livelihoods.

Dr Pirzada in his study on “power-cracy in WTO” said that the multilateral and international monetary and financial institutions were overstepping their mandated charter and were directly interfering in matters, which either fall in the purview of national governments or were subject related to other regional or international agencies.

The report argues that globalization is pushing the world to a ruthless competition, where markets and economies have become the denominators of success.

“Policies of multilateral institutions have been instrumental in shaping and speeding up of this process and establishment of WTO has given a fillip to the whole process”, it said.

The study on “Cultivation Bt cotton” revealed that illegal import and multiplication of Bt cotton seed in Sindh and Punjab wreck havoc at the farmers’ field. Absence of biosafety guidelines at government level and awareness at farmers level further complicated the issue. Bt cotton is a genetically modified seed having gene of bacteria bacillus thuringiensis. The duty finds that Bt cotton has high production cost per acre than non-Bt varieties and lower yields.

Roshan Malik in his study on special product concept under WTO observed that the issue of special products (SPs) was peculiar to each country. Developing single universal criteria, in the form of indicators, is perhaps neither feasible nor desirable. The developing countries including Pakistan which aspire to avail the special and differential treatment provision provided in the July Framework agreement should bear in mind that prior to selection of the SPs, the real task is to negotiate the criteria, indicators that might suit a particular situation and need of each individual country.

The study further says that the national data might not give true picture and trade data might be misleading in selecting SPs. The crops like tobacco, chillies, dates, bananas and gram have little share in trade but have a significant role in food security, livelihood and rural development, thus could qualify for SPs in Pakistan.