Committee reviews farm policies, follows up on ministerial outcomes, addresses food security

Updates on agricultural market developments and food security

Members heard updates from representatives of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN World Food Programme (WFP),  the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Bank on ongoing issues surrounding food security.

UNCTAD emphasized the crucial role of trade in combating food insecurity by facilitating the efficient movement of food from surplus to deficit regions, helping to stabilize prices and improving access to a diverse and nutritious food supply. It also drew members’ attention to the impacts of food export restrictions on food price volatility, which exacerbate food insecurity and cause adverse price shocks in least developed countries (LDCs) and net food-importing developing countries (NFIDCs). In addition, it underlined the importance of transparency in applying such measures.

Referring to the 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, the FAO briefed members on the latest food security and market developments. It noted that while updated statistics pointed to some improvements, albeit uneven across continents, 673 million people still faced hunger in 2024. The new projections estimate 512 million people will face chronic hunger in 2030, highlighting the challenge of achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 (Zero hunger).

In its contribution, the FAO informed the Committee about global cereal supply and demand and the food price situation, underscoring the importance of enhanced transparency in global food commodity markets and trade as well as coordinated policy actions.

The WFP noted that for the first time it is dealing with two concurrent famines, with 28 million people facing extreme levels of hunger in Sudan and Gaza. The WFP stated this comes at a time of declining aid funding, noting that due to resource shortages the emergency operations will reach 17 million fewer people in 2025 than the previous year.

The World Bank underlined that food and nutrition crises are growing in scale, frequency and complexity, driven by conflicts, climate events, economic upheaval and fragile systems. The Bank informed the Committee about its efforts on the ground, in collaboration with national governments, to develop a structured approach to anticipating and managing such crises through food security preparedness plans, a standardized and targeted approach embedded in national systems to address food insecurity. These plans link national food security needs with regional and global support, thereby bolstering national responses.

Follow-up on ministerial decisions  

The Committee undertook the 2025 annual dedicated discussions on export competition to follow up on the implementation of the Nairobi Decision on Export Competition of 2015. A detailed background document prepared by the WTO Secretariat, compiling information from members’ notifications and their responses to the Export Competition Questionnaire under the Nairobi Decision, supported the deliberations.

The Chair drew attention to the recent decision of the Committee establishing an integrated, all-inclusive export competition notification requirement applicable as of this year, which would form the foundation of future dedicated discussions.

For the ongoing second triennial review of the operation of the Bali Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) Decision of 2013,  due this year, discussions focussed on the draft report of the review, which reflects the discussions held so far and also includes a set of recommendations or conclusions.

The chair explained  that the report, prepared under his guidance,  proposed conclusions covering three distinct elements: i) transparency regarding annual in-quota and out-of-quota tariffs on products subject to scheduled TRQs that are opened each year; ii) inclusion of import data in annual MA:2 notifications, disaggregated by country, for open TRQs that have country-specific allocations in the schedule of commitments; and iii) establishing a process to collate a list of practices that might act as potential impediments to TRQ utilization until the next triennial review so they can be addressed during that third review. The Chair indicated that he would convene further meetings with members in different settings to make progress on the matter.

The Committee continued its engagement on the follow-up to the agreed report  and recommendations under the dedicated work programme on food security it undertook during 2022-24 in response to the instructions  from the 12th Ministerial Conference in 2022.  One suggestion during the discussions was to establish a dedicated monitoring mechanism within the Committee for targeted follow-up on specific elements of the recommendations.

Another group of members underlined that the final report and recommendations address only a small part of the problems raised by LDCs and NFIDCs and preferred to avoid giving the impression that the work programme had resolved all food security challenges faced by LDCs and NFIDCs.

On a matter added for the first time to the agenda, members shared their initial perspectives on the implementation of the Bali Ministerial Decision on General Services in practice, and on how a follow-up to this decision could inform the Committee’s monitoring and review process under Article 18 of the Agreement on Agriculture.

Agricultural policies review

A total of 203 questions were raised by members concerning individual notifications and specific implementation matters during the meeting. This peer review process allows members to address issues related to the implementation of commitments outlined in the Agreement on Agriculture. Of these, 33 issues were raised for the first time, while 26 were recurring matters from previous Committee meetings.

The 33 new items covered a range of topics, with many centred on the implications of trade framework deals announced between the United States and its trading partners, including Japan, Indonesia, Viet Nam and the European Union. These members in response broadly noted that the framework deals do not constitute legal binding agreements and that specific issues remain to be worked out.

Among other new topics raised, the United Kingdom was asked to respond to questions about sustainable farming initiatives in Wales; the Philippines was asked to respond about its suspension of rice imports; and Switzerland was asked about increased agriculture subsidies. Specific questions on a range of new topics were also posed to Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, the European Union, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Oman, Paraguay, Thailand, Türkiye and the United States.

Previous discussions carried over included India’s domestic support programmes, sugar policy and export duties as well as public stockpiling issues. Other topics included Canada's support of dairy products, China's domestic support of US cotton, Egypt's rice export restrictions, the EU's deforestation regulation, New Zealand's support of Maori agribusiness, the UK's goods schedule and the United States’ and targeted agricultural support measures.

All questions submitted for the meeting are available in G/AG/W/256/Rev.1. All questions and replies received are available in the WTO's Agriculture Information Management System.

Since the previous meeting in June 2025, a total of 103 individual notifications have been submitted to the Committee: 12 related to market access, 34 concerning domestic support, 55 regarding export competition, and two related to the implementation of the Marrakesh Decision on LDCs and NFIDCs. The Chair urged members to submit timely and complete notifications and to respond to overdue questions, stressing the critical importance of enhanced transparency. In the same vein, the Chair urged members to submit timely replies to the questions they receive in the Committee, noting that several remained outstanding.

Technology transfer

Members expressed interest in advancing discussions on the transfer of technology to developing economies in the food and agricultural sector. Delegations expressed support for continuing discussions on the topic, with calls for experience-sharing on how members can utilize policy tools envisaged under the Agreement on Agriculture to promote agricultural innovation and technology transfer domestically.

Noting that the agricultural sector in developing economies comprises small and fragmented landholders, discussions emphasized the need for, and the transformational role of, appropriate technologies for farmers. The transfer of agricultural technologies to developing economies on fair and affordable terms, and their effective absorption by farmers in recipient economies, was considered to hold enormous promise. The importance of greater clarity in members’ domestic support notification practices for measures related to agricultural research and technological innovation was also underlined. The Chair suggested convening informal discussions and continuing to include this topic on formal agendas to support ongoing reflection and shape collective guidance.

In an informal thematic session held in the margins of the Committee meeting on 25 September to facilitate freer dialogue on recurring themes under the Committee's review process, Canada made a presentation on the transparency of agricultural policy developments and the role of so-called Table DS:2 notifications covering domestic support while the World Bank made a presentation on agricultural risk management and insurance policies.  

Next meeting

The next meeting of the Committee on Agriculture is scheduled for 24-26 November 2025.

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