Institutionalizing Inequality: The WTO Agreement on Agriculture, Food Security, and Developing Countries

The article examines the food security implications of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture. It places the Agreement in historical context, examines its key provisions, and argues that the Agreement systematically favors industrialized country agricultural producers at the expense of farmers in developing countries. The Agreement enables industrialized countries to continue to subsidize agricultural production and to protect domestic producers from foreign competition while requiring market openness in developing countries. The article evaluates the effect of this imbalance on food security in developing countries, and proposes reforms to provide developing countries with the tools to promote access by all people at all times to sufficient, safe and nutritious food.