Export Crops v. Food for Domestic Consumption

Abstract

There has been a good deal of discussion of the respective merits of export crops and food for domestic consumption. Some have argued that if the comparative advantage points to export crops, it is they that should be promoted and the foreign exchange earned be used for inputs into agriculture or industry, or even for food imports. On the other hand, there have been those who have argued that export crops impoverish the poor, deprive the people of food, and lower nutritional standards. It has also been argued that they are ecologically destructive.