The starting point here are the WTO domestic support rules applying to developing countries. According to the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), there are four different categories of domestic support measures: the so called Amber Box (covering classical trade distortive subsidies such as price interventions and coupled payments), the Blue Box (partly decoupled payments under production-limiting programs), the Special and Differential (S&D) Treatment Box (certain input and investment subsidies for developing countries only) and the Green Box (decoupled payments which are at most minimally trade distorting). It is the Green Box which expressly allows Members to pay farmers compensation for income loss for those located in disadvantaged.
