New Delhi: India has taken a firm stand on finalizing a permanent solution for public stockholding for food security. At the 13th ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization, the country argued that the organization’s focus should broaden beyond the trade interests of agricultural exporters to address the crucial issues of food security and livelihoods, the commerce ministry said in a statement.
At the session on agriculture on Tuesday, India emphasized the essential role of a permanent solution for public stockholding in combating hunger, especially in developing countries.
About 164 member nations are participating in negotiations on agriculture at the MC13 of the WTO which is being held in Abu Dhabi.
India pointed out the disparity in domestic support provided by countries to their farmers, noting that subsidies in some developed countries are up to 200 times greater than those in developing nations, the commerce ministry said in a statement.
“It was the membership’s duty to ensure a level playing field in international agriculture trade for millions of low-income or resource-poor farmers,” it added.
Over 80 countries, representing more than 60% of the world’s population from developing countries, have co-sponsored a proposal on the issue.
India has reiterated the preference for adopting a sequential approach to attain a permanent solution to public stockholding.
“After that, it is important to protect the treaty-embedded Special and Differential Treatment provision in the Agreement on Agriculture,” the commerce ministry said.
“India stated that any derogation in this regard would be unacceptable. After that, if any discussion on reduction of domestic support commitments takes place, the process should start with eliminating subsidies for countries who provide massive subsidies on a per capita basis,” as per the statement.
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India seeks permanent solution for public stockholding at the WTO | Mint – Mint
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