The Director General World Trade Organisation (WTO) Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has called on stakeholders in the Food and Agriculture sector to revisit the rulebook guarding the sector if revitalisation and growth were the objectives.
The DG’s assertions were disclosed at the just concluded two-day workshop themed “Examining Contemporary Challenges In The Agriculture Sector In The Context Of WTO Negotiations”.
She said the various agreements on agriculture have underpinned five-fold growth in agricultural trade since the start of the century, and the challenges facing the sector have evolved significantly.
Recall that the United Nations has l indicated that around 9 per cent of the world’s population faced hunger in 2022 — with climate change among the factors that are exacerbating existing challenges.
Also, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres added that more than 281 million people in 59 countries experienced high levels of food insecurity, requiring urgent assistance.
Addressing the statistics, Iweala said, “There is an urgent need to ensure that trade in food and agriculture contributes to ensuring everyone can access sufficient, safe, and nutritious food at all times”. While the agreement on Agriculture has Agricultural markets remain highly distorted, she noted that Policymakers need to rethink how existing policy frameworks affect the sustainable management of land and water resources.
The workshop explored challenges related to sustainability, food security and reducing poverty as well as possible new avenues that members could consider in the ongoing negotiations on agricultural trade rules at the WTO.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala called on trade officials to find the political will to make the trade-offs needed to achieve progress in the talks.
She said, “We should use every single means to try and get a breakthrough and that is why I think this workshop is very important.”
