G/AG/GEN/216  
20 February  2023 
(23-1186) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Agriculture   
 
  
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE WORK PROGRAMME UNDER PARAGRAPH 8 OF THE 
MINISTERIAL DECLARATION ON THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO FOOD INSECURITY  
 
WORKSHOP ON FINANCING  
Tuesday, 28 February 2023  
WTO, CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD ( ROOM S1 ), GENEVA  
PROGRAMME  
1.  At the WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference, Ministers adopted the Ministerial Declaration on 
Emergency Response to Food Insecurity ( the Declaration).1 Paragraph 8 of the Declaration commits 
Members to " having a dedicated work programme in the Comm ittee on Agriculture to examine how 
this Decision 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. " 
2.  At its 103rd meeting  on 21 -22 November 2022 , the Committee on Agriculture (CoA) established 
a Work Programme pursuant to paragraph 8 of the Declaration, along with the thematic areas to be 
examined thereunder.2 There is a strong emphasis in the Work Programme on both trade finance 
and finance for agricultural production, production inputs, and infrastructure to bolster agricultural 
resilience.  Accordingly, t he Secretariat, in consultation with the CoA Chairperson and delegations, is 
organi zing a workshop on financing on 28 February 2023  to deliberate on agricultural and food 
financing challenges faced by governments, especially in least -developed and net food -importing 
developing countries  (LDCs and NFIDCs) , policies and actions  employed to deal with those 
challenges , and suggestions to better address the se financing challenges in the current as well as 
any future food crisis.  The workshop will benefit from the participation of relevant international 
organizations and agencies , regional and corporate financial institutions , as well as  from Members' 
participation and their sharing of experiences and challenges in the sphere of agriculture financing.   
3.  The event will be organized in a hybrid format with virtual participation via Interprefy. The 
following programme is proposed for the event .  
 
  
 
1 WT/MIN(22)/28 - WT/L/1139  issued on 22 June 2022 . 
2 G/AG/35 issued on 23 November 2022.  G/AG/GEN/216  
- 2 - 
  10:00  - Introduction by the Moderator: Marcel VERNOOIJ , Chair person, Committee on 
Agriculture  
Session I (10:10 -11:45) 
Food security outlook in 2023 and beyond, and financing challenges  
Panellists:  
• Boubaker B EN-BELHASSEN, Director, Markets and Trade Division , Food and Agriculture 
Organization of the United Nations (FAO)  
• Arnaud PETIT , Executive Director, International Grains Council (IGC)  
• Giovanni V ALENSISI, Economic Affairs Officer, United  Nations Conference on Trade 
Development (UNCTAD)  
• David DRYSDALE,  Head, Export Credit and Competition Division, Organisation for Economic Co -
operation, and Development (OECD)  
Session II (11:4 5-13:00)  
Agricultural Finan cing challenges and pot ential solutions: Regional and corporate sector 
experience  
Panellists:  
• Abah OFON, Senior Manager , Export Development Advisory, Afreximbank  
• Michiel TEUNISSEN, Global Head, Trade & Agri Commodities Finance, Rabobank  
• Luther  St. VILLE, Senior Agricultural Specialist , Caribbean Development Bank  
Lunch break  
Session III (15:00 -16:30) 
Food security crisis: policy & operational actions  and suggestions by International 
financial Institutions  
Panellists:  
• Gaëlle P IERRE, Senior  Economist, International Monetary Fund (IMF)  
• Chris  BRETT , Lead Agribusiness Specialist, World Bank (WB)  
• Aspasia TSEKERI , Legal Officer, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)  
Session IV (16: 30-17:50) 
Agricultural finance during crisis: Members' actions and experiences   
Panellists:  
• Iman N ASR, Under Secretary, Ministry  of Trade and Industry, Egypt  
• V.D. Nirusha AYONI,  Agricultural Economist, Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka  
• Dennis CRAWFORD , Agricultural Specialist, Directorate of the CARICOM Single Market and 
Trade  
• Leonard MIZZI, Head of Unit, European Commission Directorate -General for International 
Partnerships  
• Etienne OUDOT DE DAINVILLE, Permanent Representative of France to the WTO  
• Commerijn PLOMP, First Secretar y, Permanent Mission of the Netherlands to the WTO  
• Frank RITTNER, Counsellor,  Permanent Mission of Germany to the WTO  
17:50 - Closing remarks:  
• Marcel VERNOOIJ , Chair person, Committee on Agriculture  
• Edwini KESSIE, Director, Agriculture and Commodities Division, WTO  
Presentations by the panellists in each Session will be followed by a brief Q&A exchange.  
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