Nations tend to disproportionately protect agriculture because it is at the mercy of natural disasters, production requires a great deal of time, and products are similar. Of all the items negotiated in the WTO, agriculture has been among the worst sticking points. Hoping to protect their own agricultural sectors, countries with small-scale farming industries have argued for flexibility and a broad focus on the many different aspects of the issue of agriculture.
加上農業具有承受自然災害、生產過程漫長、產品齊一化困難的特性，使得各國給予農業的保護高過其他產業，農業談判更成為 WTO 中最難做出定論的項目，小農國家尤其主張農業的多元價值，試圖保護自己的農業。