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About this site
World trade in agricultural, fisheries and forestry products totals some $480 billion annually (average 2000-2002, FAOSTAT). This trade is an important source of foreign exchange earnings and a crucial component of food security.
FAO is committed to providing its Member States with trade-related assistance, as mandated in the World Food Summit Plan of Action. In support of the new WTO negotiations on agriculture, FAO has strengthened its programme of technical assistance aimed at enhancing the capacity of Member States - especially developing countries and economies in transition - to participate effectively in the multilateral negotiations and to derive maximum benefit from global trade.
FAO's trade work dates back to well before the Uruguay Round of negotiations and addresses broader policy and market issues of relevance to agriculture, fisheries and forestry. FAO's approach is multidisciplinary in that it involves capacity building for trade, including analytical as well as operational field activities with a direct impact on supply-side capacities.
There are four main elements of this programme:
information and databases (FAOSTAT, AMAD),
analyses and fact sheets,
training (Umbrella Training Programme),
support to supply-side capacity building.
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FAO's involvement in Aid for Trade:
FAO looks forward to collaborating actively with the WTO and other development partners in elaborating the Aid-for-Trade initiative for the agricultural sector and facilitating the implementation of the initiative in the area of agriculture. Most of the Aid-for-Trade actions is expected to take place at the country level, but cross-border and regional programmes and projects are also envisaged. The emphasis placed by the Aid-for-Trade initiative on supply-side capacity and infrastructures on the one hand, and the significance of the agricultural sector in the economy and poverty reduction on the other, means that FAO is well placed to collaborate with development partners in operationalizing the new initiative.
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