Many rich nations take steps to protect farmers in their countries. They do this so they can maintain agricultural independence in case of war or other disasters. To protect their famers, many wealthy countries impart on food imported from other countries, to keep food off the market. These countries also support their farmers by providing subsidies to them. These subsidies help keep the price of agricultural products low. The prices remain so low that agricultural products, which have become cheap because of subsidies, are exported from wealthy countries. The low prices of these products drive down the price of those products around the world. This process is harmful to farmers in poor countries who do not receive subsidies because they cannot sell the products for the same low price. In fact, countries in Africa have even petitioned the government to subsidies, particularly to cotton producers. When the government subsidizes cotton growers, the wealthy cotton producers can afford to sell the cotton for less than what it costs to grow it. Therefore, the Africans growing cotton cannot make money