Oxfam has started a campaign calling on Ireland and other wealthy countries to open up their markets to goods from the developing world.
The aid agency accused the rich countries of robbing the poor world of $100 billion a year by abusing the rules of world trade. As a result, millions of poor people were being denied their best escape route from poverty.
The director of Oxfam Ireland, Mr Brian Scott, said Ireland should stop depending on EU farm subsidies, even though this would result in job losses.
The "Make Trade Fair" campaign, which started yesterday in 22 countries, calls on the West to cut farm subsidies, allow poor countries access to its markets and regulate the rights of workers employed by multinational corporations in the developing world.
The campaign got off to a noisy start yesterday on Dublin's O'Connell Street, with the aid of local bands, African drummers and celebrities from RTÉ soap operas. More information is on a website, www.maketradefair.com
Mr Scott said Ireland's farmers were overly dependent on EU export rebates, which bridge the gap between their high production costs and lower world prices. As a result, we have relied on "volatile" Middle Eastern markets such as Libya and Egypt instead of trying to sell more competitively within the EU.
Every cow in the EU gets a subsidy of $2 a day, he pointed out, and 40 per cent of farmers' income comes from supports of one kind or another.
"It is quite impossible for farmers in poor countries, who do not receive such subsidies, to compete with rich country farmers. It is hypocritical for rich country leaders to call for global free trade while protecting their own agriculture sectors to this extent."
Oxfam says that for every dollar the West provides the developing world in aid, it steals $2 in unfair trade. Goods from poor countries are taxed at four times the rate of goods from rich countries. Over 120 million people could be lifted out of poverty if Africa, Latin America and Asia increased their share of world markets by just 1 per cent.
Mr Scott said Irish agriculture could face ruin if "the rug was pulled out from under it" through trade liberalisation, the trend in international negotiations, and so farmers should concentrate on niche markets, such as organic produce, instead of dumping food in the developing world.
He said there should be a shift from low-skills occupations towards more productive jobs.
