Farm Radio Weekly

As part of a coalition of Canadian organizations concerned with food security in developing countries, DCFRN has signed an open letter to Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food about the country’s role in World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations. The letter stressed that Doha Round negotiations have privileged developed countries seeking market access and failed to adequately consider their priority obligations to development and human rights.
The Canadian Food Security Policy Group has therefore called upon the Canadian government to express its commitment to local food security and rural livelihoods through negotiations at the WTO, particularly in the following areas:
-Special Products. These are products deemed essential to local food security. DCFRN urges Canadian negotiators to support positions on special products that will protect the breadth of crops on which local food security depends and protect small farmers’ access to local markets.
-Special Safeguard Mechanism. This mechanism is intended to allow developing countries to protect local food and local livelihoods against import surges and price drops. DCFRN urges the Canadian government to support positions that will ensure the tool is sufficiently strong to stem surges that threaten local markets.