The opportunity to transform the function of formulating the negotiating position into an inclusive process was provided by the preparations for the next WTO Ministerial Conference in Seattle at the end of 1999. Stakeholder participation and work could focus on a key objective, namely the preparation of the Ministerial Conference and global negotiations on a new agricultural agreement. Total factor productivity (TFP) in agriculture is estimated to have stagnated over the past decade due to the already low growth in TFP in the 1990s. Growth in agricultural output remained relatively slow, averaging 0.5% per year, well below the world average (Figure 22.7). It was solely motivated by the increased use of primary factors and intermediate inputs. The agricultural bargaining team is led by a negotiating mandate developed with the TF-WAR and with the approval of the President. Problems related to the mandate and level of severance pay of Geneva employees are reported only to the capital. In the meantime, the issues that need to be clarified at the level of the senior OFFICIAL of the PLAN will be forwarded to the capital for decision. The core group will be convened on short notice and the topic(s) will be evaluated. Approved instructions and alternatives are then sent to Geneva. For important issues requiring a political decision(9), the matter is referred to the Capital for evaluation and recommendation by the Core Group and all TF-WAR members, as well as for final approval and mandate by the Secretary. The mandates of the Ministerial Conference will be obtained on a new path to the TRM Cabinet and the President.
Figure 1 illustrates the process of formulating the Philippines` national negotiating position on agriculture and relevant institutions. The whole negotiation process involves a complex dynamic at two levels, on the one hand between the national institutions involved and, on the other hand, within and between WTO members, which aims to reach a consensus on the so-called Geneva process. The Geneva negotiation process in the field of agriculture advances the TF-WAR process. NOTES: 1.- National Statistical Coordination Council, National Accounts 1st quarter 2004, available at www.nscb.gov.ph. back to text 2.- 2001 Data for products of agricultural origin, Philippine Statistical Yearbook 2002, National Statistical Coordination Council. back to text 3.- National accounts 1. Quartal 2004. zurück zum Text 4.- V.
Bruce Tolentino, Cristina David, Arsenio Balisacan et Ponciano Intal Jr, Strategic Actions to Rapid Ensure Food Security and Rural Growth in the Philippines, 29 March 2001, quoted by Walden Bello, L`OMC et la disparition de l`agriculture philippine, Focus sur les pays du Sud, 20 June 2003. back to text 5.- Published by the Secretary`s Office, Ministry of Agriculture, 28 Septembre 1999. back to text 6.- The original members included: the Government, the Conseil national de l`agriculture et de la pêche (NAFC), the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) Secretariat, the DA Planning and Monitoring Service. Private sector representatives from the Philippine House of Food Manufacturers, the National Onion Growers Co-operative, the Philippine Association of Hog Raisers, Inc., the Federation of Free Farmers, the Coffee Foundation of the Philippines, the National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc., the Philippine Association of Meat Processors, Inc. Among the NGOs, the following NGOs were represented: Sanduguan, Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka, CODE-ONG, Philippine Business for Social Progress. The number of members has been extended to the cereals, sugar, poultry and fisheries sectors. The latter eventually formed their own working group, with fisheries negotiations being conducted separately in the WTO. return to text 7.- Special Decree No.
450 issued by the Office of the Secretary, September 2001. back to Text 8.- Published by the Office of the Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture. back to text 9.- As e.B. join the G20 (Group of 20) or organize the PS and SSM Alliance (Special Products and Special Safeguard Mechanism). Back to text 10.- The guidelines state that when deciding on the level of confidentiality to be accorded to information, the Panel carefully considers the two issues of the right to public information and national security in order to strike a balance between respect for the fundamental right of individuals to public information on matters of public interest and access to official documents. on the one hand, and the need to protect vital secrets and information that compromise national security and interests, on the other. Any breach of trust regarding an obligation of confidentiality is a reason for the withdrawal of the members of the Working Group. The Working Group may take legal action against the offending party, Ministry of Agriculture, Guidelines for Confidentiality, March 2000. back to text 11.- Special products (SP) is a new concept introduced in the current round and agreed by members as a modality for further elaboration in the framework agreement recently adopted for the famous package of July 2004. It is a special and differential treatment mechanism that provides developing countries with flexibility to recognize the inherent difficulties they face in implementing their WTO commitments and a means to achieve the objectives of food security, livelihood security and rural development as set out in the Doha Development Agenda.
Under CSPs, developing countries will make less costly commitments to remove barriers to certain sensitive products, the number and modalities of which must be agreed. back to text 12.- The July 2004 package also provides for the establishment of a special protection mechanism (SSG) for developing countries. The modality still needs to be developed in the next phase of the negotiations. back to text 13.- For example, sugar and food processing, maize and livestock/poultry. Back to text In the 2000s, the government took policy measures to further reduce market interventions in agriculture. Subsidised loan programmes were halted and private traders were allowed to import rice on a limited scale. However, the focus on food self-sufficiency (rice) continued to be strengthened and, after the global food price crisis in 2008, agricultural spending increased significantly. The government has increased public spending on irrigation and input subsidies to achieve self-sufficiency. Launched in 2011, the Food Sufficiency Programme continued to focus on rice and some other staple foods, but shifted attention from input subsidies to public services for agriculture such as development and infrastructure (OECD, 2017[1]). Following the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture, the system of quantitative restrictions on rice was abolished in March 2019.
Other tasks of the TF-WAR included the evaluation of existing policies and programmes in the agricultural sector and the development of policy and programme recommendations to address gaps that undermine the benefits of WTO accession; Review of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to adapt and improve competitiveness (backstops) concluded prior to the accession of the Philippines in 1995; and the identification of projects and sources of financing to improve the competitiveness of Philippine agriculture. . . .
