How Can the World Trade Organization Foster Climate-Resilient Food Systems in Least Developed Countries?

The document argues that while WTO rules provide policy space for LDCs to build climate-resilient agriculture, these countries often lack the financial and technical capacity to utilize them. It recommends targeted assistance through Aid for Trade to design compliant subsidies, mapping of climate technologies to facilitate TRIPS-compliant transfers, and the establishment of exemptions for LDCs from food and fertilizer export bans to ensure food security amid climate shocks.

• LDCs possess significant policy space under the WTO Agriculture Agreement to implement climate-resilient subsidies, including unlimited input and investment subsidies for resource-poor farmers via the Development Box (Article 6.2) and quantitative-limit-free subsidies for infrastructure and training via the Green Box (Annex 2). However, LDCs underutilize these flexibilities due to a lack of financial resources and the technical expertise required to manage complex administrative systems, such as those needed for decoupled direct payments.
• The WTO's Aid for Trade initiative could be leveraged to help LDCs optimize constrained public budgets for agriculture and design WTO-compliant subsidies. Specifically, it could support the creation of input subsidies for climate-resilient seeds and sustainable fertilizers, direct payments for adaptation programs, and higher minimum support prices for farmers using resilient varieties.
• To facilitate the transfer of climate-resilient technologies, the document suggests the WTO Secretariat collaborate with agencies like UNEP and WIPO to map key technologies and their intellectual property status. It also recommends enhancing Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement by requiring developed countries to provide assessments of the effectiveness of their technology transfer incentives and establishing a dedicated transition framework for LDCs graduating from their status (such as Bangladesh, Lao, Nepal, Solomon Islands, Cambodia, and Senegal).
• Export bans by food-producing countries harm LDCs, which are often net food-importing. The brief proposes an LDC exemption from such bans, similar to the existing exemption for World Food Programme purchases, to allow LDCs to import food at lower domestic prices from exporting countries during crises.
• There is a regulatory asymmetry in the WTO where fertilizers are subject to less stringent rules than agricultural products; Article XI of the GATT 1994 does not require prior notification or consultation for fertilizer export restrictions. The brief recommends guidance to encourage fertilizer-producing countries to notify the WTO Secretariat of restrictions in advance and enter consultations with affected LDCs.
• The document suggests that the WTO Secretariat should collaborate with international organizations to create a global repository for food security statistics relevant to LDCs, including data on crop yields, fertilizer use, and trade flows, to improve market intelligence and early warning systems for food crises.

APA

Calvo, F. (2025). How Can the World Trade Organization Foster Climate-Resilient Food Systems in Least Developed Countries? International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-10/wto-food-systems-least-developed-countries.pdf

Chicago

Calvo, Facundo. How Can the World Trade Organization Foster Climate-Resilient Food Systems in Least Developed Countries? International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2025. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-10/wto-food-systems-least-developed-countries.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Calvo |first1=Facundo |title=How Can the World Trade Organization Foster Climate-Resilient Food Systems in Least Developed Countries? |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=October 2025 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-10/wto-food-systems-least-developed-countries.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{calvo2025how, author = {Calvo, Facundo}, title = {{How Can the World Trade Organization Foster Climate-Resilient Food Systems in Least Developed Countries?}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-10/wto-food-systems-least-developed-countries.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }