A Bridge Too Far: Africa's Food Security and the WTO Agreement on Agriculture.

Food and agriculture were largely treated as exceptions from the GATT disciplines. The GATT Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) initiated a long-term process of trade liberalisation in agriculture. Food security is among the objectives of the AoA. Trade liberalisation in agriculture, the removal of protectionism, and tariffs in agricultural trade are envisioned as food security enhancing. However, although African countries embraced the WTO AoA, they have failed to liberalise their agricultural trade in line with the disciplines of the AoA. African countries have missed out on the benefits of agricultural liberalisation, among them being food security. As a result, Africa's agricultural trade is anaemic and, coupled with her low agricultural productivity, Africa is plagued by hunger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]