Trade, food security, and the 2030 Agenda
This report (PDF) by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) explores the contribution that trade and trade policy could make to the hunger and malnutrition objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The paper looks at past progress and projected trends, and examines options for government action in the years ahead. Trade policy and rules can help governments to achieve the 2030 agenda targets, such as doubling productivity and incomes for small producers by improving access to markets and opportunities for value addition, and creating rural jobs. The new goals say explicitly that tackling trade restrictions and distortions in global agricultural markets could help. Actions to implement the new commitments that affect non-agricultural markets could be just as important for food and nutrition security—such as ending poverty, ensuring equitable access to sustainable energy, or adopting sustainable production and consumption patterns. Projections indicate that governments must now go beyond a “business as usual” approach if the new hunger and nutrition goals are to be achieved. According to the authors, recent steps forward on agricultural export subsidies suggest that incremental progress is feasible and realistic.