G/AG/W/225  
 
26 October 2022  
(22-8037) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Agriculture  Original: English/French  
 
 
THEMATIC TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED UNDER THE WORK PROGRAMME  
MANDATED  IN PARAGRAPH 8 OF THE MC12 MINISTERIAL DECLARATION  
ON THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO FOOD INSECURITY  
COMMUNICATION FROM DJIBOUTI ON BEHALF OF THE LDC GROUP  
The following communication dated 25 October 2022 , is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Djibouti on behalf of the LDC Group.  
 
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The present submission proposes a non -exhaustive list of themes to be addressed by Members u nder 
the Work Programme mandated in paragraph 8 of the MC12 Ministerial Declaration on the 
Emergency Response to Food Insecurity ( WT/MIN(22)/28 ). 
 
1  OBJECTIVE  
1.1.  As stated in the Ministerial Declaration, the starting point of the Work Programme discussion 
should be the challenges that developing cou ntries, and particularly in least -developed (LDCs) and 
net food -importing developing countries (NFIDCs), face in securing availability and access to food in 
times of trade disruptions, record prices and excessive volatility or other emergency situations.  
1.2.  Discussions under the work programme should therefore aim at:  
• Identifying the needs of developing countries in particular  LDCs and NFIDCs to build long 
term resilience and preparedness to respond to acute future crisis;  
• Assessing how best the multilateral trade system can help LDCs and NFIDCs respond to 
those challenges and whether existing rules and provisions are appropriate to address such 
situations;  
• Making recommendations, where appropriate, with respect to future a ction, including the 
desirability of improving existing rules.  
1.3.  In doing this, it is critical to take a long -term perspective and envisage responses that could 
apply not only to the present situation but also to future disruptions in the global food system.  As 
shown by the food price spikes, which intermittently occurred between 2006 and 2013, episodes of 
high and excessively volatile prices combined with trade and value chains disruptions are recurrent 
problems.  
2  ELEMENTS OF THE WORK PROGRAMME  
2.1.  Discussions s hould be organized around two critical food security objectives namely, securing 
availability and access to food. The first objective relates to the need to increase production and 
productivity in LDCs and NFIDCs, while the second focuses on securing acces s through the market 
in times of crisis. A third theme relates to transparency and cooperation among relevant agencies 
and international organizations. The following is a non -exhaustive list of trade -related topics to be 
discussed under each of these broad  themes:  G/AG/W/225  
 
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  1. Enhancing agriculture production and productivity in LDCs and NFIDCs  
 
a) Trade -related measures affecting imports and availability of agricultural inputs (e.g. seeds, 
fertilizers, pesticides, etc.);  
b) Technical assistance and capacity building to impro ve agricultural productive capacity, and 
infrastructure including domestic supply chains logistic, warehouses and cold storage 
facilities, irrigation, mechanisation or digitization;  
c) Access, diffusion and transfer of key technologies and knowledge assets in cluding for climate 
resilient agriculture development;  
d) The role of Aid for Trade in fostering the development and diversification of regional supply 
chain.  
 
2. Ensuring access to food through world markets  
 
a) Options to exempt LDCs and NFIDCs from export restr ictions imposed by net food exporters, 
where appropriate;  
b) The role of food aid in ensuring access to food without displacing local producers,  
c) The impact of the Nairobi Decision on Export Competition on NFIDC and LDC 's ability to 
finance normal levels of im ports;  
d) Access by LDCs and NFIDCs to import finance and related import guarantees/credits.  
 
3. Fostering transparency and cooperation among key institutions  
 
a) Enhancing transparency and information on production, prices, stocks and trade including 
trade policy measures affecting critical crops;  
b) Promoting coordinated rapid response measures in times of crisis among key international 
institutions (e.g. AMIS, FAO, IMF, World Bank, WFP);  
c) Fostering cooperation of international organizations in financing the no rmal levels of food 
imports in LDCs and NFIDCs in the face of price and supply shocks.  
 
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