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The National Food Security Act vis-à-vis the WTO Agreement on Agriculture
This article analyses the implications of the National Food Security Act for India's commitments under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture in the context of widespread concern that they might be mutually incompatible. An analysis of support to rice and wheat for the period 1995-2012 suggests that it is possible to leverage existing provisions in the Agreement to accommodate the current levels of operation. While India should negotiate to retain the flexibility afforded in the Agreement and argue on specific provisions, it might not be necessary to seek special protection to enable the Act.
This article would not have been possible without the generous and valuable advice and inputs of nwarul Hoda. I also thank Jean Drèze, Reetika Khera and Krushna Ranaware for providing feedback on an earlier draft and A Ganesh Kumar for discussions on the issues covered in the article. I alone am responsible for the errors or omissions that remain.
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