The field of agriculture and trade raises a host of connected issues, such as food security and food safety, environmental and other consumer concerns. It is also one where the extensive degree of domestic regulation needs to be taken into account in the negotiations. There is, as well, often a gap in policy formulation between national development objectives and the role of agricultural trade in the pursuit of these objectives. Agriculture is not only one of the most sensitive negotiating issues, it is also one of those subjects where a simple North-South presentation of interests is clearly a recipe for failure. The new frontiers of agricultural production and trade regulation must be taken into account in all agricultural negotiations.

The central focus of this new e-Learning course developed jointly by World Trade Institute (University of Bern, Switzerland) and UNITAR is more on the preparation and conduct of agricultural negotiations rather than on the substance of trade in agriculture. In a similar vein, the issue is not one of policy objectives but of implementation measures and their impact on competitiveness and trade and, in a larger context, on sustainable development.

This course will offer participants a set of practical tools with which to better situate the role and limits of trade negotiations on agriculture against the broader canvass of national development objectives. It is hoped that this course, which emphasizes networking of professionals and experts as well as discussion of case studies through the UNITAR Virtual Learning Environment, will contribute to reducing some of the asymmetries in agriculture and trade negotiations that exist between developing and developed countries.

The course dates are: November 15 to December 10, 2010.

Further information and registration is available at: http://www.unitar.org/event/unitarwti-new-frontiers-agricultural-trade-regulation

For other courses, please visit our course calendar at: http://www.unitar.org/pft/

For additional information about World Trade Institute, please see http://www.wti.org