All farmers are part of a value chain — they require inputs such as seeds and fertilizers and may use transport services to get their product to market. Trade can play a critical role in reducing the price and increasing the variety of inputs available to farmers. As consumers, trade liberalization can be beneficial to the extent that it reduces the prices for imported goods, as well as increasing the prices of exported goods. Enhanced flows of technology are critical for improving productivity and adapting to a changing climate. Technology embodied in imported inputs — for example, seeds or improved crop varieties, fertilizer, agricultural machinery, and animal vaccines —would pave the way for the emergence of more intensive production systems with increased productivity and greater sustainability.38 Other effects of trade on productivity are discussed below. It is competition from trade that reduces the price of products consumed by the poor and increases the variety of products available.