The 2020 edition of the WTO Agricultural Symposium will explore the role of international agricultural trade in achieving this transformation. It will also assess and draw on the lessons learned from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural trade.
WTO (2020) TRENDS IN WORLD AGRICULTURAL TRADE - 25 YEARS OF THE AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE (AoA) BACKGROUND PAPER FOR WTO AGRICULTURAL SYMPOSIUM, 2-3 DECEMBER 2020. (42 pages)
First Day
- Opening Remarks - Alan Wolff, WTO Deputy Director-General
- "Food Systems of the Future"- Qu Dongyu, FAO Director-General
- "The Role of International Trade in Food Security" - Michael Fakhri, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food
- "The Role of International Trade in World Food Systems Transformation" - Agnes Kalibata, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit "WTO Agreement on Agriculture @ 25"
- Edwini Kessie, Director, WTO Agriculture and Commodities Division
International trade in agricultural commodities and processed foods has always been vital to global food security, and its importance is only likely to rise in future in view of natural disasters and climate change. Each year, the world's transport system moves enough maize, wheat, rice and soybean to feed approximately 2.8 billion people. Meanwhile, 190 million tons of fertilizers applied to farmland annually play a critical role in helping us grow enough food to sustain our expanding populations, with much of that fertilizer traded on the international stage. This session explores the interlinkage between international agricultural trade and food security.
- Maximo Torero, Chief Economist, FAO
- Anabel Gonzalez, Non-resident Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics (former Trade Minister, Costa Rica)
- Ertharin Cousin, CEO and President, Food Systems for the Future (former Executive Director of WFP)
- Deep Ford, Former Chair of WTO Agriculture Negotiations
- Clemens Boonekamp, Former Director of WTO Agriculture and Commodities Division
- Moderator: Majda Petschen, Senior Counsellor, WTO Agriculture and Commodities Division
The world is continuing to experience a health crisis – a global pandemic – that is unprecedented in modern times, one that has shutdown of large parts of the global economy. We have seen measures taken by governments to quarantine their citizens, impose travel restrictions, suspend non-essential economic activity, and seal-off national borders. At the outset of the crisis, airports and seaports were operating at a fraction of their total capacity with a dramatic impact on world trade and global production chains, including the production of food. This session explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural trade and food security, and the lessons learned.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 recognizes the need for better nutrition, specifically aiming to "end all forms of malnutrition". It is generally argued that there are four main pathways through which international trade can improve nutrition: it can contribute to the stability of food supply and food prices acting as a buffer against fluctuations in the domestic market; it can contribute to the diversity of food supply thereby improving national diets; it can lower food prices making a healthier diet more accessible to consumers; and it can increase incomes thereby enhancing consumer purchasing power. This session explores the interlinkage between international agricultural trade and nutritional diversity.
- Claire Citeau, Executive Director, Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA)
- Lee Ann Jackson, Head of Division, Agro-food Trade and Markets, TAD, OECD
- Josef Schmidhuber, Deputy Director, Markets and Trade Division, FAO
- Cheryl Spencer, Ambassador of Jamaica to the WTO, coordinator of the ACP Group in Geneva
- Moderator: Ulla Kask, Counsellor, WTO Agriculture and Commodities Division
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 recognizes the need for better nutrition, specifically aiming to "end all forms of malnutrition". It is generally argued that there are four main pathways through which international trade can improve nutrition: it can contribute to the stability of food supply and food prices acting as a buffer against fluctuations in the domestic market; it can contribute to the diversity of food supply thereby improving national diets; it can lower food prices making a healthier diet more accessible to consumers; and it can increase incomes thereby enhancing consumer purchasing power. This session explores the interlinkage between international agricultural trade and nutritional diversity.
- Francesco Branca, Director, Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, WHO
- Namukolo Covic, Senior Research Coordinator, Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
- Chris Hegadorn, Secretary, Committee on World Food Security (CFS)
- Dirk Jacobs, Deputy Director General / Director Consumer Information, Nutrition and Health, FoodDrinkEurope
- Anne Marie Thow, Associate Professor, Public Policy and Health, The University of Sydney
- Moderator: Erik Wijkstrom, Counsellor, WTO Trade and Environment Division
Second Day
AGRICULTURAL TRADE, PATHWAYS TO ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
International trade leads to a more efficient allocation of resources, including natural resources such as land and water. The declining availability of renewable natural resources poses a serious threat to agricultural production and food systems. Amid increasing water scarcity in many parts of the world, for instance, virtual water trade as both a policy instrument and practical means to balance the local, national and global water budget is being carefully studied. This session explores the interlinkage between international agricultural trade and environmental sustainability, and the trade policy reforms that can improve environmental outcomes.- Ann Tutwiler, Coordinator, Policy Action Coalition of the Just Rural Transition & Senior Fellow, Meridian Institute
- Carin Smaller, Director, Agriculture, Trade and Investment, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
- Shenggen Fan, Senior Professor at the College of Economics and Management in China Agriculture University, and former Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
- Wanjira Mathai, Vice President and Regional Director for Africa, World Resources Institute (WRI)
- John Clarke, Director in charge of International Affairs. Directorate General Agriculture – European Commission
- Moderator: Doaa Abdel-Motaal, Senior Counsellor, WTO Agriculture and Commodities Division
AGRICULTURAL TRADE, FOOD SAFETY
Food safety regulations and the perception of risk are different among countries and consumers, with the COVID-19 pandemic leading to host of new food safety regulations. Although no major disruption to international trade has occurred for food safety reasons, serious trade frictions do and can occur. Risk reduction measures and quality certification programs can not only pre-empt food safety crises but can better position exporters in overseas markets. This session explores the important role of the WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and the Standards and Trade Development Facility in addressing these concerns.
AGRICULTURAL TRADE IN 2050, TOWARDS FORWARD-LOOKING DISCIPLINES
Two brainstorming sessions in this Symposium are dedicated to imaging the role of agricultural trade in the world of 2050. Looking across the different pillars of the AoA, this session will solicit the views of trade experts on how best to reform agricultural trade policy and the design of forward-looking disciplines.
Two brainstorming sessions in this Symposium are dedicated to imaging the role of agricultural trade in 2050. Looking across the different pillars of the AoA, this session will solicit the views of farmers organizations on the types of agricultural trade policy reforms that would strengthen the multilateral trading system and boost farm income.
- Markus Lipp, Senior Food Safety Officer, Food Systems and Food Safety Division, FAO
- Steve Wearne, Director, Global Affairs, UK Food Standards Agency
- Kateryna Onul, Regulatory and Policy Lead, International Finance Corporation (IFC). Food Safety Advisory. Kateryna referred to the 2020 edition of :
2020. Food Safety Handbook : A Practical Guide for Building a Robust Food Safety Management System Washington, DC: World Bank. © International Finance Corporation.
and announced the webinar: 9/12. 3:00 - 4:00 pm Nairobi. Food Safety Regulations: Know Your Way Organised by IFC (the International Finance Cooperation) Food Safety team - Tesfalidet Hagos, Founder and General Manager of Luna Exports, Ethiopia
- Godfrey Bahiigwa, Director, Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture, African Union Commission
- Moderator: Melvin Spreij, Counsellor and Head of the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF), WTO Agriculture and Commodities Division
Two brainstorming sessions in this Symposium are dedicated to imaging the role of agricultural trade in the world of 2050. Looking across the different pillars of the AoA, this session will solicit the views of trade experts on how best to reform agricultural trade policy and the design of forward-looking disciplines.
- Gerda Van Dijk, Former Director International Trade at Department of Agriculture and South Africa's Agricultural Counsellor to the WTO
- Carmel Cahill, Former Deputy Director Trade and Agriculture Directorate, OECD
- Sophia Murphy, Executive Director, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)
- Darci Vetter, Former Chief Agricultural Negotiator, Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)
- Janvier Nkurunziza Chief, Commodity Research and Analysis Section, UNCTAD
- Moderator: Cédric Pene, Counsellor, WTO Agriculture and Commodities Division
Two brainstorming sessions in this Symposium are dedicated to imaging the role of agricultural trade in 2050. Looking across the different pillars of the AoA, this session will solicit the views of farmers organizations on the types of agricultural trade policy reforms that would strengthen the multilateral trading system and boost farm income.
- Theo de Jagger, President of the World Farmers Organization (WFO)
- Shawna Morris, Vice President, Trade Policy, National Milk Producers Federation and Dairy Export Council
- Alexis Hougni, Researcher, Agronomy – Economics, National Institute of Agricultural Research of Benin
- Raul Montemayor, President of Free Farmers Association
- Moderator: Fabrizio Meliadò, Economic Affairs Officer, WTO Agriculture and Commodities Division.
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