From early family memoirs, it is clear that the underpinnings of a barter economy helped Hays America survive from the 1890’s to the dirty thirties. The exchange of commerce was solidified in a handshake, secured over a black cup of coffee at the local cooperative, or predicated upon another man’s word that he would re-pay his debts after the summer wheat harvest.

The large Catholic families of the Founding Farmers were all in it together. I don’t have to dig deep into the family memoirs to capture brotherhood of Hays America. Simply show up to an American Legion wedding, attend the Christmas Eve “Midnight Mass” at St. Joseph’s Church, or stop by Cerv’s gas station around happy hour for the coveted “Snowball.” At these sites, you will see many of the Founding Farmers’ legacies, with the same last names, keeping the spirit of Hays alive.

The Founding Farmers of Hays America were also pioneers in agriculture. The technology, new farming techniques, and bountiful wheat harvest, were not solely products of divine innovation. They were born from German stubbornness, Russian firmness, and many Kansas prayers to the weather Gods for the perfect touch of rain. Although I could write about the unique farming attributes of the Founding Farmers, it is the unique interconnectedness of Hays America that spurred my second idea to change the world….

E-Bay for Agriculture

You can love or hate the World Trade Organization (WTO), but the WTO remains one of the most important global platforms for agriculturally based economies. Important international agricultural rules and regulations stem from the productivity at the WTO. The WTO has recently taken up the Doha Declaration, because the least developed countries – for lack of a better term – were getting the shaft from the developed countries at the agricultural bargaining table.

However, the latest round of the Doha talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO) produced the same merry-go-round that kicked off the 2001 Doha Declaration. For those not familiar with the merry-go-round or the Doha talks, picture a boring academic conference, without alcohol, and doubly inflate the egos at the bargaining table. Colloquially, the recent talks often result in glorified “mental masturbation” leaving much left on the table for the next round … of more important discussions.

The WTO platform for the world agricultural community is a small yet shining example of the “great divide.” The “great divide” runs right between the least developed and the developed countries. In this divide, a bitter agricultural battlefield exists because of the complex factors that play into world markets and pricing. To be exact, the great divide is the perpetual agricultural war being waged over intellectual property reform, access to technology, subsidies, custom classifications, and access to foreign markets.

Unlike the Founding Farmers, the large multinational corporation handshakes are meaningless, the coffee is not fair trade, and the vocabulary of the “local cooperative” doesn’t exist. The Founding Farmers are indeed rolling in their graves. However, the Founding Farmers are not rolling in their graves because of the great successes marked in the history of agriculture. The Founding Farmers are rolling in their graves because of the great disparity between those that have and those that have not.

Agriculture was a way of life that pulled together individuals to grow communities like Hays, Kansas. Agriculture is now the divide that pulls countries apart that leaves millions hungry at night. Do you see the local and international dichotomy that parallels the points in history? The difference is that Founding Farmers had access to a community that opened the opportunity for agriculture to thrive. Today, the least developed countries, plagued with corruption, are begging or for the simple tools just to survive. What is the solution for least developed countries dependent on agriculture? E-Bay for Agriculture

The World Trade Organization, in conjunction with major agricultural stakeholders, need to develop a comprehensive electronic trading system that allows least developed countries to have easy access to world markets. The format of the system should connect to smaller commodity markets in regionally established trade zones by the WTO and a central international clearinghouse connected to the internet for public access and trade. A built-in customs and tariff section should be included to address the common agricultural imports and exports based on regional production, destination market, and the ever sought harmonious tariff schedules.

A section of the portal should be dedicated to micro-lenders like Kiva, entrepreneurs, charities, and others around the world that simply want to male an investment in a developing agriculture economy. The “who, what, when where and how” the technology is distributed is “TBD” – because each developing country’s infrastructure and political climate is extremely unique. However, I would argue that the distribution of technology should be centralized through the WTO because the superpowers at play have blue-chip economic bargaining power, even with the world’s most corrupt leaders. If we build it, they will come.

The great agricultural divide can be closed. The world of agriculture needs to interconnect, scale beyond the tensions that exist, and find its Hays, Kansas. We may be divided by oceans, ideologies, language, or economic interests – but we must never forget that we are all in this together. In the spirit of the Founding Farmers, I believe it is time we forged a new agriculture community inclusive of the least developed world. I recommend E-Bay for Agriculture.