G/AG/W/224  
 
14 September 2022  
(22-6790) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Agriculture  Original: English  
 
DEDICATED WORK PROGRAMME TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTIVE AND OPERATIONAL 
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MARRAKESH DECISION ON MEASURES CONCERNING THE 
POSSIBLE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF THE REFORM PROGRAMME ON LDCS AND NFIDCS  
SUBMISSION BY EGYPT  
The following submission, received on 13 September 2022, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Egypt.  
 
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1  INTRODUCTION:  
1.1.  Members have committed in paragraph 8 of Ministerial Declaration on the Emergency 
Response to Food Insecur ity WT/MIN(22)/28 WT/L/1139 , "to having a dedicated work 
programme in the Committee on Agriculture to examine how this Decision (Marrakesh Decision on 
Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least -Developed 
and Net  Food-Importing Developing Countries) could be made more effective and operational 
pursuant to Article 16 of the Agreement on Agriculture and to consider concerns raised by Members 
in their current and future submissions. The work programme shall consider the n eeds of LDCs and 
NFIDCs to increase their resilience in responding to acute food instability including by considering 
the best possible use of flexibilities to bolster their agricultural production and enhance their 
domestic food security as needed in an e mergency."  
1.2.  The Ministerial Declaration also recognizes that domestic production along with trade plays a 
vital role in improving global food security in all its dimensions and enhancing nutrition. Paragraph  6 
of the declaration stipulates cooperation with "a view to ensuring enhanced productivity and 
production, trade, availability and accessibility and affordability of food for those who need it, 
especially in humanitarian emergencies."  
1.3.  Furthermore, paragraph 9 stresses the understanding of "the importance  of providing technical 
and financial assistance to LDCs and NFIDCs, including through international and regional financial 
institutions, with a view to improving their agricultural productive capacity, infrastructure and access 
to agricultural inputs."  
1.4.  Furthermore, last July the heads of the Food and Agriculture Organization, International 
Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, World Food Programme and the WTO have made a joint 
statement calling for urgent action to address the global food security crisis. The j oint statement 
recognized the need for a comprehensive approach that comprises short and long -term actions in 
"four key areas: (i) providing immediate support to the vulnerable, (ii) facilitating trade and 
international supply of food, (iii) boosting produ ction and (iv) investing in climate -resilient 
agriculture."  G/AG/W/224  
 
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  2  OBJECTIVE AND THEMES OF THE WORK PROGRAMME:  
2.1.  The dedicated work programme in the Committee on Agriculture (CoA) should focus on 
identifying the needs of LDCs and NFIDCs to enhance their short and long run resilience and 
preparedness to respond to acute food insecurity. To this end, Egypt proposes tha t Members agree 
to consider the following themes in the Work programme, including but not limited to:  
− Enhancing agriculture production and productivity in NFIDCs and LDCs through 
examining:  
• The factors driving growth in production and productivity in NFI DCs and LDCs.  
• The role of existing flexibilities in the Agreement on Agriculture and other Agreements 
in such growth including challenges faced by NFIDCs and LDCs in using those flexibilities 
the need to expand such flexibilities including those falling un der Article 6.2 and the de 
Minimis percentages under article 6.4.  
The role of technical and financial assistance to LDCs and NFIDCs including through 
international and regional financial institutions to improve their agricultural productive 
capacity, infr astructure, access to agricultural inputs.  
 
− Enhancing accessibility to food markets through identifying:  
• The Global/Regional supply chain bottlenecks with implications on Food security in 
NFIDCs and LDCs.  
• The impact of quantitative export restrictions in voked by other WTO Members which are 
major exporters of the specific foodstuffs concerned and means to shelter purchases of 
NFIDCs and LDCs under conditions to be agreed.  
• The role of Food Aid in addressing Food security in beneficiary countries and 
transparency related practices by donor members (Has food aid displaced trade and / 
or caused adverse effects on domestic production, has Food aid contributed to food 
security in beneficiary countries? How could we improve the Food Aid Convention and 
make it mo re related to food security challenges).  
 
− Enhancing ability to finance normal levels of food imports in the face of price and 
supply shocks through:  
• Examining the impact of markets uncertainties and price volatility per crop (wheat, 
Maize, Meat, Sugar, ve getable oils, Soybeans, Milk and dairy products, Rice, inputs 
including seeds and fertilizers … etc) on the ability of NFIDCs and LDCs to finance their 
normal levels of imports.  
• Investigating the impact of the implementation of the Nairobi Decision on Expo rt 
Competition (documents WT/MIN (15)/45 & WT/L/980) on NFIDCs and LDCs ‘ability to 
finance normal levels of imports.  
• Examining the access by NFIDCs and LDCs to import finance and related 
guarantees/credits and availability of relevant instruments.  
• Exami ning the role of international organizations in financing the normal levels of food 
imports in NFIDCs and LDCs in the face of price and supply shocks.  
• Understanding the trade -related aspects of a potential international compensatory 
financing mechanism to  finance normal levels of food imports of NFIDCs and LDCs and 
develop recommendations in this regard.  
3  PROPOSED SCHEDULE FOR FUTURE WORK:  
Informal and formal meetings of the CoA, September 2022  
➢ Preliminary discussions on the work programme  
➢ Members indicate the main parameters of the work program which shall include, but 
not limited to,  
• Identifying and grouping of the thematic issues to be discussed as elaborated 
above;  
• Defining the objective of the work programme,  
• Setting the deadline to co nclude work on the matter and report on the outcome 
of the work programme,  
➢ Establishment of thematic working groups open to all members and members may come 
forward to propose colleagues to act as (co)stewards for thematic working groups with 
the Chairpers on of the CoA.  G/AG/W/224  
 
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  ➢ The Secretariat Identifying the Technical documents/ papers to be prepared by the 
secretariat or relevant international organizations. This may include the following:  
• Difficulties/challenges/limitations faced by NFIDCs and LDCs in using thos e 
flexibilities,  
• The role of Food aid in addressing Food security issues and / or in causing adverse 
effects on domestic production in other NFIDCs and LDCs.  
• Available flexibilities in various WTO agreements, and their relevance to the issue 
at hand,   
• Other flexibilities that could be thought of to address food insecurity in NFIDCs 
and LDCs.  
• Reports and technical papers prepared by the thematic groups on topics of 
relevance to their discussions.  
➢ The relevant international organizations that will be invo lved in the process and the 
nature of their contributions.  
Late September 2022  
➢ Secretariat circulates list of Members and Observers that volunteered to participate in 
the thematic working groups on specific topics of relevance to the food insecurity 
Declar ation work programme, and possible (co)stewards, in consultation with the CoA 
Chairperson.  
➢ Holding the first meeting of the thematic working groups and scheduling the future 
meetings.  
➢ Secretariat circulates the technical paper on the different thematic is sues including 
flexibilities available and difficulties faced  
➢ Other international organizations submit  their technical input with policy 
recommendations in accordance with their filed of competence.  
➢ October 2022 (first half)  
➢ Secretariat circulates the agr eed technical papers within the thematic working groups.  
➢ Thematic groups meet to discuss matters of relevance to their group with a view to 
providing preliminary policy actions or recommendations to be reviewed in the next CoA 
meeting.  
October 2022 (second half)  
➢ Secretariat organizes an event (workshop) to address and discuss all thematic issues.  
➢ (Co)stewards report on work in thematic groups,  
➢ Secretariat circulates proposals/observations from thematic groups  
November 2022 (first half)  
➢ Thematic gro ups meet to advance work on the proposals/reports discussed in their 
previous meeting  
➢ (Co)stewards report on work in thematic groups,  
➢ (Co)stewards submit written proposals/observations from thematic groups  
November 2022 (second half)  
➢ Secretariat circulate s draft report, including key findings and actions with 
recommendations, as appropriate.  
➢ Discussion of the proposals/observations submitted by thematic group in the informal 
meeting of the CoA.  
➢ Reporting to the formal meeting of the CoA (21 -22 November) a nd adoption of the key 
findings and actions with policy recommendations, as appropriate.  
December 2022 (first half)  
➢ Discussion of the proposals/observations submitted by thematic groups in the informal 
meeting, with reporting to the formal meeting of the C ommittee  
➢ Adoption of the key findings and actions  
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