Livestock
Inputs/Production
WFO working to even the trade
environment playing field
GERHARD SCHUTTE, RPO
During the third general assembly of the
World Farmers Organisation (WFO) which
was recently held in Niigata, Japan, members
committed to the pursuit of ambitious trade
policy objectives and the reinforcement of
the global agricultural trading system so that
producers can operate in a fair, transparent and
predictable trading environment.
According to the WFO policy on national trade,
producers play a crucial role in feeding the
world’s population. They also help maintain
viable rural communities and care for much
of the world’s land resources. The challenges
they face, are however increasing.
Producers will need to increase production
significantly if future demand for food is to
be met. Yet the world’s resources of land and
water are finite. In addition, we are facing more
extremes of climate and long-term shifts in
growing conditions due to climate change,
while price volatility is also on the increase.
A strong and viable agricultural sector will
be essential if the world’s population is to
be assured of stable and secure supplies of
food in future and farming is to continue to
contribute to growth and employment in both
national economies and rural communities.
Encouraging trade will be one important way
of meeting these challenges. Trade helps to
even out demand and supply imbalances, thus
contributing to food security, and promotes
resource use efficiency and economic growth.
It is also a way of providing producers with
increased market opportunities and thereby
helps to improve our incomes and the
prosperity of rural communities.
The WFO is committed to the pursuit of
ambitious trade policy objectives and the
reinforcement of the global agricultural
trading system so that we can operate in
a fair, transparent and predictable trading
environment. It is equally important that
international trade is guided by some basic
principles to ensure that producers throughout
the world can fulfil their wider economic,
social and environmental role and that the
special needs of the least developing countries
are taken into account. Agriculture must also
continue to be treated differently from other
economic sectors in trade agreements in
recognition of its fundamental importance for
food security and rural areas.
The WFO called for the following action
to reinforce the global agricultural trading
system:
Strengthen international
standards
The more open markets become, the more
important it is to establish international
standards to protect human, animal and plant
life as well as health and to facilitate trade so that
consumers are informed and have confidence
in the food they eat and that producers who
adhere to science-based standards, are not
undermined by unfair competition. The WFO
supports the principles set out in the World
Trade Organisation (WTO) sanitary and phyto
sanitary measures (SPS) agreements.
Reduce protectionist
measures
The WFO calls on all governments to remove
any measures which are inconsistent with
WTO disciplines, including both export and
import prohibitions and restrictions. The WFO
also calls for ongoing progress in investigating
and eliminating non-tariff barriers which
impact unfairly on producers.
Encourage capacity
building
The WFO are requesting that the governments
of developed and advanced developing
countries provide producers in the least
developing countries with support for
capacity building in order to improve their
access to international markets. This could
include support to comply with, or adopt,
international standards and to implement WTO
safeguard measures. It is also important to
improve access to, and the management of,
market information and to develop stronger
local networks and training that addresses, in
particular, the needs of the very many women
producers in developing countries. Processors
and retailers should also take responsibility
to assist producers to meet private standards
which, increasingly, are becoming a barrier to
trade for producers.
Increase the transparency
and predictability of
agricultural markets
The Agricultural Market Information System
(AMIS) set up by the Food and Agricultural
Organisation (FAO) should be developed
further in order to increase transparency and
predictability of prices on the world market
and therefore assist towards greater stability
for the benefit of producers and consumers.
Ensure producers benefit
fairly from the opening of
markets
The very heavy concentration which has taken
place among traders, processors and retailers,
and the growth in multinational operators,
means that producers frequently find them-
selves in a weak bargaining position. The WFO
would like to see governments preventing
the abuse of market power and implementing
competition policies which allow strong pro-
ducer-owned organisations, including co-
operatives and collective marketing initiatives,
to operate effectively. For its part, the WFO will
seek to strengthen producers’ organisational
structures so that producers can be more
effective participants in the marketplace.
Guiding principles
If agriculture is to fulfil its wider economic,
social and environmental role, with countries
able to take account of their domestic concerns
and conditions, trade policy should respect the
following guiding principles.
Coherence
International trade agreements should be
coherent with other international commitments
which have an impact on the agricultural
sector, such as commitments aimed at
reducing poverty and hunger. A common set
of outcomes will complement and maximise
development in agriculture.
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November 2013
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