Ministers urged to prioritize rules-based trade for innovative agricultural systems at World Trade Organization MC14

Yaoundé, Cameroon, 25 March 2026: The multilateral, rules-based, trading system, underpinned by the World Trade Organization (WTO), has proven essential for advancing global food security by ensuring access to markets and technologies, supporting millions of farmers, and safeguarding against fragmentation and unilateralism. Ministers from around the world will meet in Yaoundé, Cameroon this week, for the first time in Africa, to take action on the WTO’s 14^th Ministerial Conference (MC14) agenda. With discussions on institutional reform looming large, this is a crucial moment for the future of rules-based trade and the WTO itself.

Governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) share a common objective to safeguard global food security in an increasingly volatile world. With this imperative in mind, CropLife International calls on Member Governments to uphold agricultural resilience and productivity and prevent unnecessary trade barriers with the following recommendations:

1. Uphold Science-Based Trade, respecting common and agreed international standards, including Codex Alimentarius for food safety.  
2. Safeguard Intellectual Property Rights and the TRIPS Agreement, to encourage innovation that will meet future needs in the field.
3. Advance sustainable development, in line with the Marrakesh Agreement, through inclusive, outcome-focused, and science-based approaches that balance economic, social, and environmental objectives.

Speaking ahead of MC14, Emily Rees, President and CEO of CropLife International said: “The multilateral, rules-based, trading system plays a critical role in advancing global food security. This upcoming MC14 provides an opportunity to reaffirm the core principles on which the WTO was built. Our recommendations lay the path for the action needed to protect agricultural productivity and food security. With science and rules-based trade, strong and predictable IP frameworks and outcome driven sustainable development, Ministers can support the agricultural sector to build its capacities, accelerate innovation and encourage development that delivers value for those in the field.”