The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, emphasized the vital role of trade in ensuring global food stability during the opening session of the World Food Forum in Rome, hosted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Okonjo-Iweala highlighted the importance of a free, fair, and predictable multilateral trading system in addressing food security challenges. She stressed that updated trade rules provided by the WTO are essential for creating an agrifood system capable of delivering sustainable food solutions.
“The partnership between the WTO and FAO is crucial in enhancing food and agricultural trade, and we are working to modernize trade rules to improve these systems,” she stated.
The WTO chief also called for domestic policies that support farmers by promoting research, pest and disease control, and efficient water management. She noted that trade restrictions and subsidies continue to distort global agricultural markets, worsening food insecurity for the 733 million people facing hunger, mainly in Africa and South Asia.
Okonjo-Iweala also warned of the growing threat of climate change on food systems, pointing out its impact on water scarcity, biodiversity loss, and deforestation. She called for stronger global cooperation to reduce trade barriers and environmental damage, noting that current agricultural systems generate hidden health, environmental, and social costs of up to $10 trillion annually.
While acknowledging challenges in advancing agricultural trade negotiations at the WTO, she reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to achieving a well-functioning agricultural trading system that is critical to global food security.
