WTO must prioritise core spirit of agriculture: Experts

Global civil society leaders have stressed the need for the World Trade Organization (WTO) to reevaluate its approach to agriculture, particularly in relation to small-scale farmers, who are the backbone of global sustainability at the WTO Public Forum 2024.

The event, titled "Trade Rules for Supporting Small-Scale Farming as Contributors to Green Trade in Agriculture", was organised by Bangladesh's COAST Foundation and Belgium-based NGO Humundi, according to a press release on Wednesday (11 September).

Speakers highlighted that while small-scale farmers contribute significantly to environmental sustainability, they remain marginalised in global trade discussions and suffer from the impacts of climate change and unfair trade policies.

Ogwuche Sunday, Senior Counsellor of the Nigerian Mission to the WTO, voiced concern over the exclusion of Nigerian small-scale farmers from trade negotiations despite their central role in the country's agricultural output. He emphasized that they lack access to the necessary technologies to compete on a global scale.

Jonas Jaccard, Policy Officer of Humundi, noted that the European Union, while a major player in WTO agricultural negotiations, fails to address the needs of its small-scale farmers. These farmers are disproportionately affected by price drops resulting from unfair WTO subsidy rules.

Helene Bank, Board Leader of Norway's Handelskampanjen, added that small-scale farmers possess critical local knowledge and resource management skills. Their struggles, she said, stem not from a lack of financing but from misguided policies that do not support their contributions to sustainable agriculture.

Ranja Sengupta, Senior Researcher at Third World Network (TWN) India, criticized the WTO's Agreement on Agriculture for failing to meet the sustainability goals outlined in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She argued that the WTO has ignored potential solutions, such as Public Stockholding, which could alleviate many of the challenges faced by small farmers.

Moderating the session, Barkat Ullah Maruf, Director of COAST Foundation, highlighted the unique essence of agriculture, stating that while technology has advanced rapidly, food production remains a fundamentally human endeavor. He urged the WTO to prioritize small-scale farmers in its agricultural trade policies to ensure global food security and sustainability.