Traditionally, agriculture was viewed as being governed by national policy with the objective of ensuring food security. The original GATT rules allowed governments to restrict supply in order to control production levels and ensure food security. However, in the Uruguay Round negotiations leading to the WTO, the United States called for abolishing all controls on imports. However, with some countries defending their imports, a compromise on market access was reached. Countries must import, as an absolute minimum, at least 2 percent of their domestic consumption of all foods, and increase this up to 5 percent by the year 2000. This policy of obligatory imports contradicts a policy of national food security.

The developing countries are primarily rural economies. In South and Southeast Asia, 60 percent of the work in agriculture and food production is done by women. Women in rural Africa produce, process, and store up to 80 percent of the food. Fifty percent of Third World women plough and level land and 70 percent are involved in planting, tilling and harvesting. The erosion of domestic agriculture production through trade liberalisation policies has multiple and significant impacts on food security, women and rural communities.

Under the Agreement on Agriculture, member states are required to reduce their domestic and export subsidies in monetary terms, as well as the quantity of subsidised exports. Least developed countries are exempt. The Agreement provides for certain domestic subsidies to be cut by 20 percent for developed countries over six years and by 13.3 percent for developing countries over ten years. For developed countries, monetary subsidies must be no more than 64 percent of expenditure, and the volume of each subsidised product must be no more than 79 percent for developed counties. For developing countries, the monetary subsidies must be no more than 76 percent, and volume subsidies to be no more than 86 percent.

With regards to agricultural product exports, the problem for most developing countries would be the lack of availability of exportable surpluses. Diverting agricultural products from domestic consumption for export would be profitable for farmers with exportable surpluses but could cause scarcity domestically and adversely affect local survival. Food insecurity in developing countries is exacerbated by national debts and the economic incapacity to pay for food imports. This impacts with particular force on women as the resource managers of their communities.