Egypt objects any changes to the current subsidy programs offered by some NFIDCs to small farmers.
Ahead of the WTO 11th Ministerial Meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Egypt issued a statement on behalf of a number of Net-Food Importing Developing Countries (NFIDCs), to express their stance regarding agriculture and food security issues under negotiation.
In the statement, Egypt affirmed its objection to any changes to the current subsidy programs offered by some NFIDCs to small farmers in order to increase productivity.
“Having roughly 20% of the world population, NFIDCs’ grain imports amounted to $20bln in 2015, compared to $4.6bln in 2001, accounting for 18% of total global imports. On the other hand, food production fell 3.6% in 2015, compared to 8.8% in 2001,” it added.
The statement also stressed that any future agreement on agriculture should avail the required policy space for Net-Food Importing Developing Countries to deal with some of chronic problems like food security, urban development and economic diversification.