Strengthening global food security requires free, transparent international trade based on rules and science, experts warn at IICA Executive Committee

San José, 23 July 2024 (IICA) – A free, transparent international trade based on rules and science is indispensable for ensuring global food security and mitigating the imbalances between the natural resources available in different regions of the world, experts warned during a panel on the global agricultural trade situation and the positioning of the continent’s countries. The debate took place within the framework of the 44th meeting of the Executive Committee of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the governing body of the organization, which meets for two days with the presence of Agriculture Ministers of the Americas and other high-ranking sector officials.

The panel was held at a particularly important time, as the overlapping crises of recent years—pandemic, armed conflicts, and climate change—have accentuated the trend towards protectionism in many countries, impacting supply chains and affecting the most vulnerable communities.

Marcos Jank, professor and coordinator of the Insper Agro Global center in Brazil, with extensive experience in international negotiations in both academia and the private sector, and Gloria Abraham, IICA advisor on international trade and former Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Costa Rica, were the main speakers.

Fernando Mattos, Minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries of Uruguay and President of the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA), IICA’s highest governing body, was the moderator.

Additionally, there were valuable interventions from Daniel Whitley, Administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA); Michael James, Agricultural Director of Barbados; Roberto Perosa, Secretary of Commerce and International Relations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil; Laura Suazo, Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock of Honduras; and Agustín Tejeda, Undersecretary of Agricultural Markets and International Negotiations of the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries of Argentina.

Protectionism on the rise

“We are often concerned about environmental issues, specifically climate change. But we forget that international trade is essential for the planet’s food security,” said Marcos Jank.
The academic pointed out that food insecurity has increased globally in recent years due to situations like the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, with the problem being more significant in Asia and Africa than in Latin America.

“In reality, the problem is not just a lack of food, but the quality of diets. Forty-two percent of the world’s population does not have access to healthy food due to a lack of proteins and fibers. So it is not just about hunger but also malnutrition,” he warned.

In this regard, he stressed that trade is fundamental for several reasons, including price stabilization, fighting hunger and malnutrition, sanitary standards, and also productivity and efficiency.

“Trade is also a way to break unequal access to natural resources. China needs Latin America to feed its population, and that will not change quickly because they do not have access to enough arable land,” Jank stated.

He also said that Latin America’s export experience allows the region to go beyond agricultural commodities and advance into higher value-added products.

The Americas’ share in global agri-food exports was 30% between 2021 and 2023, whereas Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for 17%, revealed Gloria Abraham during her presentation.

“This means that the continent’s role in the planet’s food security is fundamental. It is the only continent with a surplus in terms of food exports and imports,” assured the IICA specialist, who was Costa Rica’s Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

However, she warned that intra-regional trade in Latin America is only 14%, an area that needs improvement.

“The main challenges we face are the rise in protectionist measures resulting from the various crises we have been experiencing. Also, the loss of competitiveness of value chains due to rising production and transportation costs and the complex situation of the global trade system,” she explained.

Part of the solution

Daniel Whitley from the USDA said that the crises of recent years have taught us that trade is an essential part of the solution to food security problems.

“We have to work with IICA to ensure our producers have the necessary tools to thrive. By 2050, there will be 10 billion people in the world, and it will be difficult to feed them if producers do not have science-based tools. Therefore, we must understand the impact of climate on agriculture,” he noted.

Roberto Perosa, the Brazilian Secretary of Commerce, focused on the obstacles to intra-regional trade and said that Brazil is willing to increase trade with countries in the region through MERCOSUR and other associations. “We need to increase the sales of products by leveraging export potential, but also by selling products within the Americas.”

He also mentioned what he considered priorities to combat hunger and poverty in the world, including “the sustainability of agri-food systems, the expansion of international trade to strengthen food security, the recognition of the role of family farmers, Indigenous peoples and communities in healthy food systems, and the promotion of the sustainable integration of fisheries and aquaculture for countries with seas. This aims to address global challenges and food security, reaffirming the importance of forums like the COP environmental summit.”

The Agricultural Director of Barbados, for his part, said that “market access is crucial, and small producers often do not have the resources to conduct the necessary market studies. We need to work with small producers in addition to making agreements. The current situation is unfavorable for small and medium producers, but there are actions that can turn this situation around. Links with actors can be established. There are many cooperatives and much can be done for small producers. We have to work together and cooperate to close that gap.”

The Honduran Minister Laura Suazo pointed out that “trade continues to be this elusive topic we keep searching for” and suggested conducting impact studies on the cost of producing for export and feeding the world, focusing on “the use of natural resources, fresh water, the impact on the trend towards monocultures, and the impact on soil erosion and quality, among others. There is also the issue of post-harvest and intermediate harvest waste where large amounts of food are still being lost.”

Agustín Tejeda expressed concern about the fragmentation of multilateralism and the growth of regulations based on environmental issues, such as the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation. “In Argentina, we are concerned that these requirements become unjustified barriers to international trade with distorting effects on the flow of goods. But we also see opportunities because we have comparative advantages, such as consolidated peace in our continent and environmentally friendly production systems, thanks to appropriate practices and technologies,” he stated.

In closing the panel, Minister Fernando Mattos pointed out that the region’s countries must work with IICA to strengthen multilateralism and generate clear rules, given that international trade is currently threatened by protectionism.

“We must also produce more knowledge that allows us to challenge the barriers being imposed on us for environmental reasons. We cannot be mere recipients of external rules; we must generate solid policies that are common among countries and that will strengthen us in negotiations. Often, unilateral measures affect value chains; we can face them with greater cooperation and a strong positioning of our region’s countries,” he concluded.

More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int