WTO and a permanent solution for food security: striving for a hunger-free world

Sachin Kumar Sharma () and Ahamed Ashiq Shajahan ()
Additional contact information
Sachin Kumar Sharma: Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
Ahamed Ashiq Shajahan: Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, 2024, vol. 16, issue 2, No 3, 337 pages

Abstract: Abstract Food security at the WTO remains one of the significant unaddressed demands of the developing country members. The Agreement on Agriculture has restricted the flexibility of the developing country members to administer price support backed public stockholding programmes for food security purposes, mainly due to the Amber box limit and the methodology for calculating market price support. Despite many deliberations and Ministerial mandates, no concrete solution has been found. The only option available to the developing country members is the Bali Decision on public stockholding, which is limited in product and programme coverage. For a permanent solution, this paper examines the options of addressing the flaws in the market price support calculation methodology through (a) consideration of inflation, (b) moving external reference price, (c) notifying in stronger currency, and (d) increasing the de minimis limit. Further, a solution based on the Bali peace clause has also been analysed. The paper finds that a ‘one glove fits all’ is not an appropriate approach for a permanent solution. Instead, multiple options or a combination of options should be made available according to the agricultural conditionalities of the members.

Keywords: WTO; Food security; Public stockholding; Subsidies; Agriculture; Negotiations; Sustainable Development Goals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12571-023-01426-9 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:ssefpa:v:16:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s12571-023-01426-9

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... ulture/journal/12571

DOI: 10.1007/s12571-023-01426-9

Access Statistics for this article

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food is currently edited by R.N. Strange

More articles in Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food from Springer, The International Society for Plant Pathology
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().