Enhancing Food Security Through the Reform in Agriculture
and the Use of Current Flexibilities

COMMUNICATION FROM BRAZIL

The following communication, dated 19 October 2023, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Brazil.

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The current communication builds upon the contribution on "Food security through agricultural reform" (WT/GC/W/893) from Argentina, Plurinational State of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

It also takes into account the Cairns Group's submission on product-specific concentration (JOB/AG/245); Costa Rica's submission on the approach to negotiation on domestic support (JOB/AG/243); the African Group's submission on domestic support (JOB/AG/242/Rev.1); the United States' submission on the WTO's role in Enhancing Food Security (JOB/AG/241 – JOB/COMTD/1 - JOB/CTG/25 -JOB/MA/160 – JOB/SPS/28 -JOB/TBT/501 – JOB/TF/233); and Canada's submission on the state of play (JOB/AG/240).

Introduction

1.   Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. To this end, WTO Members have recognized that "trade, along with domestic production, plays a vital role in improving global food security in all its dimensions and enhancing nutrition" (WT/MIN(22)/28 - WT/L/1139).

2.   The current challenges related to achieving SDG 2 might lead to a misleading perception that food systems around the world are "broken". This misconceived idea overlooks remarkable achievements since 1960. Food systems around the world have not only managed to increase agricultural production in line with population growth, but also to actually increase production per person by more than 45%, with important implications for nutrition and food affordability. While total agricultural production has tripled, global agricultural land use has increased by only 10-15%, as new techniques and technologies have allowed farmers to produce dramatically more food per unit of land.[1] Since 1995, international trade in food and agricultural products has more than doubled in real terms (USD 1.5 trillion in 2018) concomitant with increased participation of developing countries.[2]

3.   The main drivers of trade in food and agricultural products have been the initial limits on agricultural subsidies and tariffs resulting from the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AoA); bilateral and regional trade agreements; and rising incomes in developed and developing countries. This growth, however, has been slower since the 2008 financial crisis.

4.   Although "not broken", national and international agrifood systems need to be reinvigorated to combat food insecurity. In this context, the WTO needs to be a space for promoting sustainable development, including through free trade, leading to less wear and tear on nature. It cannot be, however, a forum for legitimizing measures that harm trade to allegedly achieve desired objectives.

5.   For this reason, the relationship between domestic supply and international trade of food and agricultural products, as recognized during the MC12, cannot be seen from the perspective of rivalry, but rather from the perspective of mutual supportiveness. It is hard to escape the evidence that trying to produce everything a population consumes domestically is not always efficient or necessary, but, more often than not, it is simply not viable in practical terms. Trade can ensure the availability and variety of food, as well as promote food access and price stability, by providing the movement of food from surplus to deficit countries. Trade can also foster dietary diversity, which is essential for adequate nutrient intake and human health. Finally, trade is an inestimable source of income for farmers from developing countries.[3]