Ottawa—Eliminating restrictions to international trade in agriculture and food products is key to global food security and the economic and social development of rural communities, a U.N. conference in Rome has been told.The conference was in preparation for the Food Summit at the United Nations in New York next month. Manuel Otero, the Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), which Canada is a member of, said free flowing international trade is essential to eradicating hunger and extreme poverty through strengthened international cooperation to ensure the transparent trade of food products.IICA says the importance of international trade had not been given sufficient recognition in the planning for the Summit. Trade flows are the shortest path to connect production with consumption, Otero said.Removing export subsidies and non-tariff barriers that distort the international food market are key to ensuring vulnerable populations around the globe have access to food and the profitability and welfare of rural communities. “International trade is an essential part of food systems as it connects them and, as such, makes them more economically efficient.”The IICA document calls for farmers to be duly represented and their critical role in food systems recognized as part of the commitments and measures specifically aimed at improving the world's food systems.The Food Summit, convened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, aims to place the planet on the path to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals to create a framework for peace and the prosperity of the world's population.Otero said the IICA wants agriculture recognized as a fundamental activity in eradicating poverty, stimulating rural development and ensuring environmental protection.“Because of trade, we are able to consolidate food and nutrition security; ensure improved access to food at stable prices for the most vulnerable sectors; facilitate greater diversity of products and diets; and encourage technology transfer.”The international trading system needs to be updated through national and international policies that would create the conditions for more free-flowing and transparent trade, he said. Any sanitary and phytosanitary regulations affecting trade must be scientifically based.Any sustainability requirements must not become new non-tariff barriers, he said. “Open, transparent and predictable international trade is essential for an efficient global food system and should be governed by multilateral rules and standards, with a view to promoting agricultural trade liberalization and a reduction in tariff and non-tariff restrictions.”IICA members consider trade as vital “for the sustainability of agriculture in its three dimensions: social, environmental and economic. We must improve and modernize our trade system for the 21st Century; but if the Summit proposes working to reinforce it, it must ensure that all decisions are based on science and that they work together for the nations to continue sharing the wealth of agricultural production with a world that needs more and more food.”Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.