At a special meeting on April 17, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Committee on Agriculture embraced a report featuring recommendations to aid least developed countries (LDCs) and net food-importing developing countries (NFIDCs) in addressing acute food insecurity.

Kjetil Tysdal, the Committee’s Chair from Norway, commended the members for achieving consensus in addressing the critical food security challenges faced by the most vulnerable WTO members.

The Chair noted that the result marks the Committee’s successful implementation of the instructions received by ministers at the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) to undertake a dedicated work programme focusing on the food security needs of LDCs and NFIDCs and to examine how the 1994 Marrakesh Decision targeting these countries could be made more effective and operational.

“While the report on the table may not fully meet your ambitions and expectations, it is evident from its content that the Committee stretched itself well beyond its traditional domain of engagement to delve into topics raised under the Work Programme and has proposed possible recommendations. In light of the significant efforts invested by the Committee for more than 18 months under the Work Programme, I have always believed that consensus among members should be feasible,” Tysdal said.

In November 2022, a Work Programme on food security for LDCs and NFIDCs was established as a follow-up to the MC12 mandate. A dedicated Working Group was set up in the Committee on Agriculture, led by Coordinator Marcel Vernooij of the Netherlands, which launched intensive work.

Tysdal took over as Chair of the Committee and Coordinator at the end of July 2023, succeeding Vernooij upon his departure from Geneva.

In November 2023, Tysdal circulated a report summarizing the results of one year of extensive discussions.

The report outlined a set of recommendations on four topics: access to international food markets, financing of food imports, agricultural production resilience of LDCs and NFIDCs, and horizontal, cross-cutting issues.

The Working Group was unable to reach consensus by the deadline of end of November due to one member’s reservations regarding certain aspects of the report.

Since then, the Committee has continued its efforts to push for the adoption of the report in the General Council and at the 13th Ministerial Conference.

Tysdal said the Committee would report this positive development to the General Council.