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

The document asserts that LDCs require increased investment in agriculture to enhance productivity and food security. It identifies that current WTO rules, specifically the Agreement on Agriculture's Article 6.2 (Development Box), the Green Box, and the Amber Box, provide policy space for public investment. Furthermore, it suggests that new rules—such as commitments from developed and large developing countries to reduce trade-distorting Amber Box support for products like cotton and rice—could attract private investment and improve LDCs' access to international agri-food markets.

• Current WTO rules on agricultural domestic support allow LDCs to increase public investment in agriculture 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 by making LDC agriculture more profitable, specifically if developed and large developing country members reduce Amber Box trade-distorting support for products of interest to LDCs, such as rice and cotton.
• Improving the access of LDCs to international agri-food markets is a mechanism to boost incomes and exports in these countries.

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} }