As the WTO membership is working towards a Post-Bali Work Programme to conclude the Doha round, developing and developed countries will now have to confront the core issues that have divided them for nearly 15 years. Agriculture being at the top of the list, this study explores the general interests of East African Community (EAC) Member States in the ongoing WTO negotiations on agriculture and provides inputs for both the preparatory phase of the work programme and the ensuing negotiations. It reviews the 2008 agriculture modalities to establish whether they have been overtaken by time, especially in the light of changing US and EU agricultural policies and the circumstances and needs of EAC countries.
The five member countries of the East Africa Community (EAC) are predominantly dependent on agriculture, and therefore wish to ensure that the WTO work programme on agriculture to be defined by the Trade Negotiations Committee takes their interests into account. The negotiations will determine the global rules that govern the agro-food sector, notably tariffs and other restrictions on market access for agricultural products as well as government support provided to farmers. All of these elements impact the costs, the nature and intensity of competition and ultimately the profitability of farming. When they are positive, they help the country’s agriculture to flourish providing a boost to the food security of local communities and to expanding exports. However if the changes are inappropriate they can potentially have disastrous effect; local production can be wiped out by import surges; the development of local value added processing can be inhibited and export markets can be lost.
The outcome of the negotiations is therefore important not just for the profitability and viability of farming and the performance of the sector, but also for EAC economic growth and development, food security and the alleviation of poverty. The EAC has a lot at stake in these negotiations, so it is imperative that its negotiators are effective and can help secure outcomes that support their countries’ interests.
The study notes that the EAC grouping is mixed, comprising four least developed and one developing country member, Kenya. This creates a complication since Kenya will have to undertake tariff reduction commitments whereas the other four EAC countries being LDCs will not. However the EAC is a common market so the unified external tariff schedules are to be shared by all.
The EAC region has an export interest in a number of agricultural commodities, including tea, coffee, cotton, fruit and vegetables and floriculture products. However the study has identified the rice, sugar, dairy and poultry sectors as the most vulnerable to flooding of imports. It also explores the general interests of the EAC in the ongoing WTO negotiations on agriculture and provides inputs for both the preparatory phase of the work programme and the ensuing negotiations. The study reviews the 2008 agriculture modalities to establish whether they have been overtaken by time, especially in the light of changing US and EU agricultural policies and the circumstances and needs of EAC countries.
Bearing in mind the changes that have taken place since 2008, as well as the offensive and defensive interests of EAC countries, the note has drawn up proposals that EAC negotiators might seek to get accommodated in the Work Programme on Agriculture.