The IAASTD draft report proposes a fundamental re-thinking of our approach to agriculture and essentially calls for a new paradigm that gives farmers a central role. It recognizes that market forces alone cannot deliver prosperity and food security to the poor, and that trade rules unfairly favouring rich countries and multinational corporations must be reformed. Similarly, intellectual property laws need to be reformed to prevent patents on novel crops from stifling new research and agricultural innovation. The report is critical of the power and resources of the multinational companies that dominate world seed and fertiliser markets. The report also calls for a systematic redirection towards agroecological strategies, particularly to realize environmental sustainability. It is notably muted in relation to the claimed benefits of genetically modified crops, highlighting instead the lingering doubts and controversies surrounding GM crops.