The multilateral trading system is under pressure. A shift towards protectionism, supply chain disruptions caused by extreme weather events and geo-political conflict, and deadlock at the WTO are threatening the current system.

Agriculture and food systems are not immune to the challenges facing the trading system. Trade can exacerbate food price volatility and deepen vulnerability to shocks, especially for countries reliant on food imports or exports. Trade crises destabilise the supply agricultural commodities, driving up food insecurity and exacerbating social and environmental crises.

However, could this challenge offer an opportunity to rethink trade policy and use it to advance a shift towards more sustainable and resilient agriculture and food systems?

A new vision for trade

The Shamba Centre, together with Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development (CCRED) and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), has undertaken a new research project that will present a new vision on how trade can contribute meaningfully to the agriculture and food systems in a way that advances food security, nutrition, rural incomes, climate resilience, and biodiversity protection.