How Can World Trade Organization Rules and Flexibilities Promote Food Security in Least Developed Countries?

This briefing discusses how existing and new World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and flexibilities regarding agricultural domestic support can be used to increase agricultural productivity, attract private investment, and promote food security in least developed countries (LDCs).

• Least developed countries (LDCs) can utilize existing WTO rules on agricultural domestic support to create policy space for public investment in agriculture, specifically through the Green Box, the Amber Box (subject to limits), and Article 6.2 of the Agreement on Agriculture, known as the Development Box.
• New WTO rules and flexibilities could attract private investment to LDCs by increasing the profitability of their agriculture. This could be achieved if developed and large developing country WTO members reduce Amber Box trade-distorting domestic support for products of interest to LDCs, such as rice and cotton, and if LDCs gain better access to international agri-food markets to increase exports and income.

APA

Calvo,, F. (2024). How Can World Trade Organization Rules and Flexibilities Promote Food Security in Least Developed Countries? International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/wto-rules-food-security-ldcs

Chicago

Calvo,, Facundo. How Can World Trade Organization Rules and Flexibilities Promote Food Security in Least Developed Countries? International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2024. https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/wto-rules-food-security-ldcs.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Calvo, |first1=Facundo |title=How Can World Trade Organization Rules and Flexibilities Promote Food Security in Least Developed Countries? |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=29 October 2024 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/wto-rules-food-security-ldcs |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{calvo2024how, author = {Calvo,, Facundo}, title = {{How Can World Trade Organization Rules and Flexibilities Promote Food Security in Least Developed Countries?}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/wto-rules-food-security-ldcs}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }