India had pressed for a concrete solution to the issue; but some other countries hardened their positions, resulting in a lack of consensus, according to a delegate
The 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) of the World trade Organization (WTO) that began in Geneva June 12, ended June 16, with India’s demand to seek a permanent solution on public stockholdings (PSH) of food grains being pushed to MC13 in 2023.
A member of the Indian negotiating team told Down To Earth on the condition of anonymity that not many details could be shared as discussions continued until late night and the nitty-gritty of the green room prevented the sharing of more information
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“India had aimed for a permanent solution on the PSH to protect the interests of Indian farmers and its agricultural products,” the member said.
The negotiations were crucial for India and other developing countries given the hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine such as inflation as well as ever-increasing food and fertiliser prices. The negotiations and their outcome would have defined long-term solutions for the same.
Additionally, if PSH had been turned against the interests of developing countries, they would have been forced to buy goods for steeply increasing market prices, thereby, burdening their economy.
The All India Kisan Sabha, a farmer representative body, in its letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the backdrop of MC12, had requested the Centre to protect farmer interests, considering the mass suicides by farmers due to climate crises and the influence of corporates in the agriculture sector.
“India had pressed the demand to bring a concrete solution on the issue. But there were other countries who hardened their position on coming to a consensus,” the member said.
The member elaborated that many countries wanted the PSH to be connected with the domestic support link which involved negotiations to reduce certain subsidies.
“India also raised the issue to include wider varieties of crops under PSH. At present, there are limited and mostly traditional staple crops included in government subsidies. But we wanted more products to be added to ensure food security, considering future programmes and crises,” the member said.
However, the countries could not come to a consensus. The PSH is expected to be negotiated again during the next Ministerial Conference (MC13), scheduled in 2023.
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