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The rise of the Southern economies is both a function and a consequence of the change in the global trading system. With the majority of Southern economies being agrarian in nature, this article explores emerging trends in global trade under the agriculture sector and its various dimensions. A comparative analysis of the quantitative data on developed, developing, emerging and the least developed countries gives insight into the changing dynamics of global trading patterns in primary products, processed foods, and agricultural implements from 1990 to 2017. This article elucidates the backdrop of the rise of the Southern economies and makes clear the changing locus of trade practices vis-à-vis the emerging economies and the agriculture sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India’s development cooperation efforts began soon after the country gained its Independence in 1947. Indeed, there are some incidences that date back to even pre-Independence days. India is a strong believer of the fact that developing coun- tries should not be entirely dependent upon assistance from the developed world; they must pool their own resources and capabilities to help each other. This article examines the larger framework of Indian external assistance through the concept of ‘development compact’. The new development compact is between actors of the South, rather than the North–South exchange that characterized earlier arrangements; it is no longer about the imposition of conditionalities for recipient countries but more on the principles that govern South–South Cooperation (SSC) such as mutual gain, non-interference, collective growth opportunities and indeed an absence of conditionalities. The modern concept of a development compact provides for development assistance that works at five different levels, namely trade and investment, technology, skills upgrade, lines of credit (LOC) and, finally, grants. The engagement of emerging economies with other Southern countries has provided a major pull factor for a wider engagement across these five elements, which emphasizes the comprehensive support for economic development. These factors are discussed in this article to provide an analytical taxonomy with some illustrative evidence from the Indian experience.

The introduction of genetically modified products has raised several issues related to safety, labelling and identifying preservation. These concerns have trade specific implications as well. This paper makes an effort to take stock of broad institutional arrangements which have come up to address some of these concerns viz. a viz. trade obligations. In this context, the role of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) is also analysed. Some of the provisions of CPB are in direct conflict with the WTO agreement on Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary Measures (SPS). This poses severe policy challenges to countries like India where the pace of agricultural exports has risen very recently.