The WTO and Food Security in Least Developed Countries

Rising levels of food insecurity continue to pose a threat to economic and social stability in developing, LDCs and low-income countries, and the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) provides the policy structure to ensure sustainable reform for trade in agriculture products and domestic policies alignment, to mitigate trade distortion and foster fair competition. Developing and Least-developed countries alike are highly dependent on food imports from foreign markets with a declining food security system or the lack thereof in the worst instances. There is an in balance on food security issues affecting least-develop and developing countries more than anywhere else. The WTO Agreement on Agriculture explicitly recognizes the need to take account of food security – both in commitments that WTO members have made, and in ongoing negotiations. However, the lack of consensus on reviewing the agricultural trade rules since 2008, has hindered efforts to address global food security at the multilateral level. To address food insecurity and safeguard the global food supply chain, the WTO and other international trade bodies must prioritize a synergy of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) protection in the conversations and implementation measures of agriculture and food security agreements through strict adherence to patent law, plant varieties protection, genetic resources, geographical indications (GIs), trademarks, design protection, and by providing incentive for research and development (R&D) in agriculture and food innovations. Food insecurity and vulnerability in poor countries are on the increase due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and governments' failure to prioritize and address food security by introducing new policies that promote self-reliance in food production and access to affordable safe and nutritious food. Food security remains a fundamental human right that must be realized through the collective efforts of relevant stakeholders to ensure functional food systems. In recent years, a significant population of Africa has been impacted by a worsening food crisis, driven by multiple factors, including COVID-19, climate shocks like flooding and locust destruction of crops, conflict, and political mismanagement. This has undermined progress towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030 and consequently exacerbated food insecurity in ten low-income countries, namely, Somalia, Yemen, Central African Republic, Chad, DR Congo, Madagascar, Liberia, Haiti, Timor-Leste, and Sierra Leone according to the 2021Global Hunger Index. The aforementioned countries are dominantly least-develop WTO member states enduring the continuous pinch of hunger and starvation as an outcome of market disruptions influenced by the over subsidization of agriculture exports, specifically farm subsidies from rich nations. Article XVI of the GATT 1947 unequivocally speaks against cases of serious prejudice to the interests of any other contracting party when threatened by subsidization. This essay paper presents policy arguments on how IPRs protection and WTO rules can be leveraged to address global food security while highlighting the state-of-play of developing and low-income country’s food systems and concluding on the path ahead.