G/AG/GEN/205  
 
12 September 2022  
(22-6688) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Agriculture  Original: English  
 
AGENDA ITEM "IMPLEMENTATION OF MINISTERIAL OUTCOMES"  
 
MINISTERIAL DECLARATION ON THE WTO RESPONSE TO THE COVID -19 PANDEMIC AND 
PREPAREDNESS FOR FUTURE PANDEMIC  
Contribution  by the World Food Programme (WFP)  
The following submission, dated 9 September  2022, is being circulated at the request of the World 
Food Programme (WFP ). 
 
1  RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN GLOBAL FOOD INSECURITY  
1.1.  The world is facing a food crisis of unprecedented pro portions. Hunger has been on the rise 
since 2014. Using data from the 82 countries where it operates, WFP estimated that up to 345 million 
people will be acutely food insecure or at high risk in 2022, including up to 50 million people right 
on the edge of famine.1 The number of food insecure people has been growing since 2019,2 with 
over 200 million new food insecure people from before the COVID -19 pandemic.3 In other words, an 
estimated 1 in 10 people worldwide are suffering from hunger.4 
1.2.  This seismic hunger crisis has been caused by a deadly combination of four factors:  
• Conflict  is the biggest driver of hunger. 60% of the world's hungry live in areas afflicted 
by war and violence;  
• Climate shocks  destroy lives, crops and livelihoods, undermining people 's ability to 
feed themselves;  
• The economic consequences of the COVID -19 pandemic  are driving hunger to 
unprecedented levels;  
• Costs  are also at an all -time high. WFP 's monthly operating costs are  USD 73.6 million 
above their 2019 average – a staggering 44 % rise. These additional monthly operating 
costs would have previously fed 4 million people for one month.  
1.3.  The ripple effects of the conflict in Ukraine are making large parts of the world even mo re 
fragile, bringing rising food costs and supply chain disruptions. Overall, 94 % of WFP country offices 
report rising food and nutrition needs due to the impact of the Ukraine crisis.5 
1.4.  Prior to the Ukraine war, international food prices were already high , owing to market 
conditions, high energy and fertilizer prices, and other factors. In March 2022, global food prices 
were almost 30 % higher than at the same time last year, reaching an all -time high, though prices 
eased somewhat in the subsequent two mont hs.6 
 
1 WFP Global Operational Response Plan 2021 – Update # 5, June 2022.  
https://www.wfp.org/publications/wfp -global -operational -response -plan-update -5-june-2022  
2 WFP, A Global Food Crisis, 2022: A year of unprecedented hunger, https://www.wfp.org/global -
hunger -crisis  
3 WFP scales up to support the most vulnerable in global crisis, July 2022, 
https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP -
0000141089/download/?_ga=2.155250360.2043885065.1662466974 -452813577.1576669866   
4 Sustainable De velopment Goals Report,  May 2022, https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2022/The -
Sustainable -Development -Goals -Report -2022.pdf   
5 WFP scales up to support the most vulnerable in global crisis, July 2022.  
6 Sustainable Development Goals Report, May 2022.  G/AG/GEN/205  
 
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  1.5.  According to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the volatility and increase 
in food and commodity prices stemming from the conflict in Ukraine are similar to levels witnessed 
in 2007/08 and 2010/11, and adding to pandemic -related disruptions with high levels of poverty 
and income inequality.7 
1.6.  Fertilizer costs are already close to their 2008 peak and could increase by 40 %, while climate 
shocks – including drought, floods and other extreme weather conditions - in major exporting 
countries could contribute to a significant decrease in cereal production.  
2  WFP RESPONSE TO THE GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS  
2.1.  In 2021, WFP purchased 4.4 million m etric tonne of food, valued at USD 2.4 billion. This was 
the highest volume and value of food procured in over 10 years. Over 70 % of the food procured was 
delivered to complex emergencies, such as Yemen, the Syrian Arab Republic, Afghanistan and 
Ethiopia.  
2.2.  Food is pro cured in countries with reported surplus stocks to minimize the risk of causing 
deficits and inflating market prices.8 However, about 60 % of the volume of food procured in 2021 
was sourced from countries with ongoing WFP operations. Local food procurement  contributed to 
stimulate their economies at a time when the COVID -19 pandemic was having a major impact on 
domestic income.  
2.3.  WFP continued to increase the share of procurement from small -holder farmers. In 2021, WFP 
purchased 117,000 metric tons of food f rom smallholders, representing 2.7 % of its total 
procurement. WFP plans to reach 10 % by 2027. 9 
2.4.  As the largest humanitarian organization with more than 80 country offices covering over 
120 countries, WFP is well placed to both save lives and support livel ihoods. WFP 's 2022 plan focuses 
on two key areas: prevent millions from dying of hunger by delivering emergency food assistance 
and nutrition support; stabilise national food systems and supply chains, and support local markets 
to boost longer term resilie nce and insulate against future shocks worsening the situation still 
further.  
2.5.  Given the increased number of food insecure people, WFP plans to assist 152 million people 
in 2022, a significant increase compared to the already record -high 128 million people reached 
in 2021. To mitigate the impact of higher food prices, WFP is also adjusting its sourcing strategies, 
identifying new markets and investigating potential commodity substitutions in line with beneficiary 
preferences.10  
3  JOINING EFFORTS ON GLOBAL FOO D SECURITY THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS  
3.1.  Global food and nutrition needs are at risk of outstripping the ability of the humanitarian 
community to respond, creating an urgent imperative to look into innovative and collaborative ways 
to help countries that are acute ly vulnerable to food price shocks to stabilize their national food 
systems and to weather global food market shocks.  
3.2.  Given its global leadership in humanitarian procurement and supply chain, WFP is currently 
involved in the various initiatives related to  the crisis on food, fuel, and fertilizer. For example, 
WFP is implementing the Solidarity mechanism, one of the three pillars11 of the French -led Food and 
Agriculture Resilience Mission (FARM), following the official launch in July 2022.  
3.3.  The principle underpinning the initiative is global solidarity – a multisectoral response 
mechanism where countries with surpluses of cereals avail these surpluses to deficit countries. 
 
7 https://www.ifpri.org/spotlight/food -prices -war-ukraine  
8 WFP Update on food procurement,  June 2022, 
https://executiveboard.wfp.org/document_ download/WFP -0000139003  
9 Ibidem  
10 Ibidem  
11 The FARM's three pillars entail: trade, solidarity and agricultural production.  G/AG/GEN/205  
 
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  The private sector will play an important role in the mechanism by mak ing contributions that can be 
utilized in the purchase and distribution of the cereals.  
3.4.  WFP's deep field presence, network of field -operating partners, advanced data analytics 
capacity, global logistics network, and significant purchasing power put the ag ency in a unique 
position to work in solidarity with the private sector and key international partners and organisations, 
including the Food Agricultural Organization (FAO) and International Fund for Agricultural 
Development (IFAD), to address the acute fo od needs of the most fragile countries, especially in 
Africa. Engagements with international financial institutions, the private sector and WFP Member 
States are ongoing and will continue into October 2022.  
3.5.  The involvement of the World Trade Organization ( WTO) in the FARM 's trade pillar also 
represents a key effort to protect global food security, seeking to avoid a "crisis of confidence " on 
agricultural markets by avoiding export restrictions and strengthening transparency around 
agricultural stockpiles an d prices. WFP renews its appreciation to the WTO and its Member States 
for adopting a decision to exempt WFP 's humanitarian food purchases from export restrictions at the 
12th WTO Ministerial Conference. As also recognised by the FARM mechanism, this histo ric decision 
represents a step forward to tackle the global food crisis12, contributing to joining efforts towards 
the Sustainable Development Goal 2 on Zero Hunger.  
 
__________  
 
12 https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french -foreign -policy/development -assistance/food -security -
nutrition -and-sustainable -agriculture/international -food-and-agriculture -resilience -mission -farm-initiative -for-
food/article/international -food-and-agriculture -resilience -mission -farm-initiative -for-food