World trade organization and its effect on the agricultural sector of developing countries: exploring the experiences of nepal and Uganda

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has played a great role in the development of international trade in agriculture. Before its establishment, trade in agriculture has been distorted and not liberalized. Nonetheless, due to the effect of the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture (AOA), trade in agriculture has been fully liberalized. However, despite its establishment, one could observe several drawbacks in fully realizing the benefits from being part of it. This is particularly seen with developing countries which have been caught between the need for developing their agricultural base on the one hand and unable to secure the benefits from their membership on the other hand. The main objective of this article is, therefore, to examine the implications of WTO for the agricultural sector of developing countries with reference to Nepal and Uganda. To reach the objective of this article, secondary data review has been carried out. The study has been analyzed based on the principles of agreement on agriculture under WTO such as market access, domestic support (subsidies) and export subsidies. When the WTO AOA was agreed by member states, it was widely assumed that trade liberalization in agriculture would contribute to growth, better income and economic development. However, the evidence from the experiences of Nepal and Uganda does not support this argument.