The relationship between food security, trade and the environment is a complex but increasingly important one. The impacts of climate change have undermined progress in food security and threaten to continue setting Africa back in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal 2 of Zero Hunger by 2030. Trade plays a critical role in food security in the face of climate change, ensuring that food can move from areas with food surpluses to those facing food shortages. As climate change impacts regions and their food production differently, this balancing-out function will become increasingly important. 

Along with the acknowledgement of the need to safeguard global food security in the context of climate change, transformation is needed within the WTO to overcome long-standing inequities in the agricultural trade system and bridge the differences between developed and developing members. This will be necessary to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable countries’ agri-food systems to shocks. 

This Trade Report discusses some key asymmetries in the WTO Agreement on Agriculture negotiations that need to be addressed, including public stockholding programmes, AMS allowances, and ineffective special and differential treatment provisions. It also discusses some adaptation measures that address the continent’s key climate-related challenges in the agricultural sector, outlining the potential of deeper regional integration to accelerate the transition to food system resilience.

See the related Infographic: Climate, trade and food security

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