JOB/AG/254, JOB/MA/171  
JOB/SPS/31, JOB/TBT/517  
JOB/COMTD/5, JOB/TF/240  
 
19 October 2023  
(23-7056) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Agriculture  
Committee on Agriculture, Special Session  
Committee on Market Access  
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  
Committee on Trade and Development  
Committee on Trade Facilitation  Original: English  
 
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 . 
 
_______________  
 
 
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 aroun d 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 agricu ltural 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 (US D 1.5 trillion in 2018) concomitant with increased participation of developing 
countries .2 
 
 
1 OECD. Food systems and the triple challenge (2021). Available at  https://www.oecd.org/food -
systems/documents/food -systems -and-the-triple-challenge.pdf . 
2 FAO. The State of Agricultural Co mmodities Markets (2020) . JOB/AG/254 • JOB/MA/171 • JOB/SPS/31 • JOB/TBT/517 • JOB/COMTD/5 • JOB/TF/240  
 
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  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 bro ken", 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 th e 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 a lso 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 
 
ENHANCING FOOD SECURITY THROUGH TRADE  
6.   Improving the functioning of a gricultural markets and trade and limiting the effects of distortions 
caused by misguided agricultural policies are essential for a better distribution of food around the 
world. Under the current scenario, many populations and regions have no access to foo d due to the 
unfair competition arising from heavily subsidi zed production and protectionism. Worse, such policies 
frequently lead to higher food prices, to the detriment of the most vulnerable people.  
 
7.   In the area of food security, nutrition and sustaina ble agriculture, UN Sustainable Development 
Goal (SDG) 2.b defines trade as a means of implementation of the zero -hunger target (along with 
increased investment - SDG target 2.a and the proper functioning of commodity markets - SDG 
target 2.c). SDG 2.b com mits countries to:  
 
"Correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets, including 
through the parallel elimination of all forms of agricultural export subsidies and all export 
measures with equivalent effect ." 
 
8.   One of the main structural reasons for the current scenario is that nutritious and healthy diets 
are unaffordable for many people, especially the poor, in all regions of the world. The average cost 
of a healthy diet is approximately USD 3.75 per day (at a minimum, selecting the cheapest options 
available in each different country), and the cost of a nutrient -adequate diet is USD 2.33 per day 
per person, both well above the international poverty line of USD 1.90. To increase the accessibility 
of healthy diet s, the cost of nutritious food must fall and priorities in terms of food and nutrition 
policy need to be adjusted accordingly.  
 
9.   Trade policies can affect the cost and accessibility of healthy diets by changing the relative prices 
between imported foods an d import competitors. Reducing import tariffs and phasing out tariff 
quotas are important to expand equal access to markets for agrifood products. Non -tariff measures, 
such as sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and technical barriers to trade (TBT),  can also 
negatively affect the accessibility of diets, when, for example, exporters and importers face 
additional costs to comply with import requirements, often without technical or scientific basis, 
raising the cost of trade .4 
 
ENHANCING FOOD SECURITY THROUGH REFORM  
10.   Projections suggest that, following a business -as-usual path, SDG 2 on Zero Hunger would not 
be achieved by 2030 and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture would continue to 
increase. To achieve the Zero Hunger target while  reducing direct GHG by 6%, overall agricultural 
productivity  would need to increase by 28% over the next decade. Comprehensive action to boost 
 
3 FAO. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (2019) . 
4 FAO. Trade and Sustainable Development Goal 2. Policy options and trade -offs. JOB/AG/254 • JOB/MA/171 • JOB/SPS/31 • JOB/TBT/517 • JOB/COMTD/5 • JOB/TF/240  
 
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  agricultural investment and innovation as well as to enable technology transfer are urgently required 
in order t o put the agricultural sector on the necessary sustainable growth trajectory .5 
 
11.   Therefore, Governments need to invest in and create the opportunity for farmers to participate 
in well -functioning food systems and ensure that domestic populations have acces s to food. SDG 2 
already provided the path for such improvements in agrifood systems:  
 
"2.4  By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural 
practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ec osystems, that 
strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and 
other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality ." 
 
"2.a  Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperat ion, in rural 
infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant 
and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing 
countries, in particular least developed countries. " 
 
12.   However, most of the current  support for agriculture is distortive. Price and income support 
policies linked directly or indirectly to production push local production to artificial levels, which are 
unsustainable from an economic point of view, and not env ironmentally friendly from the standpoint 
of an inefficient use of natural resources.  
 
13.   More recently, the mantra of "repurposing agricultural policies and support " has become the 
focus of several reports by international organizations. Repurposing would in volve converting 
distortive, environmentally damaging subsidies into investment in science and technology in order 
to increase the productivity and efficiency of agri -food systems. One study suggests that the 
allocation of around USD 70 billion - the equiv alent of 1% of the value of global agricultural 
production, or less than 1/3 of the distortive subsidies currently paid in the form of budget transfers, 
according to the study's methodology - would be enough to promote the necessary investments in 
S&T so t hat the agricultural sector could contribute to sustainable development in its three pillars. 
The rest of the current budget should go to consumers, in the form of income protection policies, or 
to producers, to compensate them for any additional costs inc urred in financing the adoption of new 
technologies and techniques, or to invest in other public goods and services, such as agricultural 
infrastructure, to foster rural development .6 
 
14.   This "repurposing" is nothing more than the elimination of distortive spending with a 
corresponding increase in non -distortive spending, as the AoA enables and mandates and the SDGs 
determines.  
 
ENHANCING FOOD SECURITY THROUGH CURRENT FLEXIBILITIES  
Social protection  
15.   For Brazil, building sustainable agrifood systems and promoting food and nutritional security 
also includes social protection initiatives and policies, including direct cash transfer programs. More 
directly related to agriculture, the National Food Acquisition Program (PAA), which provides food 
produced by fa mily farming to people in situations of food insecurity, and the National School Feeding 
Program (PNAE), which offers healthy meals to more than 40 million children every day, also 
contribute to increasing access to healthy food and strengthening sustainab le food systems.  
 
Science and technology  
16.   The development and dissemination of technology, innovation and good practices are crucial 
for promoting adequate and healthy food and for building sustainable, productive, prosperous and 
resilient food systems. Brazil has experience in integrating science  and technology, bringing together 
the public and the private sector s, to build sustainable food systems that are adapted to the country's 
tropical and temperate climates and the characteristics of its six biomes.  
 
 
5 OECD -FAO Agricultural Outlook 2022 -2031. 
6 World Bank, IFPRI. Repurposing Agricultural Policies and Support (2022).  JOB/AG/254 • JOB/MA/171 • JOB/SPS/31 • JOB/TBT/517 • JOB/COMTD/5 • JOB/TF/240  
 
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  Small and Family Farming  
17.   Family farming p lays a significant role in Brazil's food systems, representing 77% of rural 
establishments and occupying 23% of the country's agricultural land. Besides being primarily 
responsible for the diversity of the country's food supply, family farming has played a  crucial role in 
the production of organic and agroecological food, the generation of renewable energy and the 
development of a bioeconomy model that integrates traditional knowledge and promotes the 
productive inclusion of traditional peoples and communit ies. To support such achievements, it is 
essential to implement specific public policies that provide technical assistance, enable access to 
markets, financing and allow for added value for family farmers in all their diversity, including 
smallholders, ind igenous peoples and traditional peoples and communities.  
 
18.   The development of these policies throughout the past decades were not hampered by the WTO 
rulebook . They are legitimate "Green Box" policies in line with provisions of the AoA.  
 
ENHANCING FOOD SECU RITY BY AVOIDING ROLLBACKS IN THE COMMITMENTS  
19.   Public stockholding (PSH) is but one of the elements of a comprehensive reform package, and 
food security is but one of the possible objectives of PSH programmes. Market price support is the 
most distortive agr icultural policy. Due to the well -documented negative effects on the international 
agricultural system, the curbing of market price support policies was one of the most important 
achievements of the AoA. When procurements to build stocks are made through m arket price 
support, they cannot be left unchecked.  
 
20.   Brazil recognizes that the constitution of stocks might be a valid solution depending on the local 
context. However, it is important to recall that the decision -making process on PSH is a complex 
task an d has to take into account several aspects related to the implementation of those programs, 
such as over -reliance on institutional markets; operational effectiveness; fiscal sustainability; cost 
efficiency vis-à-vis other approaches; effects on international markets. It is not a silver bullet to 
fight food insecurity and should not be treated as such in  the course of negotiations.  
NEXT STEPS  
21.   A negotiating agenda to reduce domestic support, tariffs and non -tariff bar riers needs to be 
addressed so that sustainable and resilient national and international agrifood systems can be 
gradually built up. Although food insecurity might require emergency actions, hunger can only be 
overcome by sustainable food production over t he medium and long term. Building trust among 
buyers and suppliers, strengthening production capacity in non -distortive ways and creating 
commercial infrastructure are essentially medium and long -term phenomena. International trade is 
essential to the succ ess of a global food security action . 
 
22.   The reform under Article 20 of the AoA is essential for any WTO response to global food 
insecurity, since food security is inseparable from agricultural reform, especially in domestic support 
and in market access. In the same vein, Brazil reiterates its willingness to negotiate disciplines for 
PSH programs for food security purposes as part of a comprehensive package for all potentially 
distortive forms of domestic support. We call on all WTO Members to contribute to t he negotiation 
and fulfilment of the mandate of the AoA, which will allow the elimination of distortions to contribute 
to the promotion of environmental, economic and social sustainable development.  
 
23.   The exclusive focus on so -called emergency issues that w ould allegedly provide answers to the 
challenges of food insecurity in the short run is not the path to follow. Members must avoid in the 
process initiatives that are distractive and disruptive.  
 
24.   Brazil has already presented a proposal for the permanent so lution on PSH and will be 
presenting new contributions to advance negotiations on domestic support and market access.  
 
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