OECD says public subsidies for agriculture reach "near historic highs"
Date
11/7/2024 2:51:01 AM
(MENAFN) The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported on Wednesday that public subsidies for agriculture have reached "near historic highs," but these subsidies are still not effectively focused on innovation and productivity. According to the OECD's Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation report, global public subsidies across 54 countries averaged USD842 billion per year between 2021 and 2023, indicating substantial government financial support for the agricultural sector worldwide.
The largest share of government support for agriculture was observed in China, which accounted for 37 percent of the total subsidies among 52 countries, followed by the United States with 15 percent, India with 14 percent, and the European Union as a whole with 13 percent. Despite the significant financial backing, the OECD highlighted that only a small portion of the total subsidies, about 12.6 percent in 2021-2023, was allocated to general services such as innovation, biosecurity, or infrastructure. This proportion has remained stable since 2020 but is still considerably lower than the 16 percent share seen at the start of the 21st century.
OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann commented that while government support is essential for ensuring the long-term sustainability of agriculture, the high level of farm subsidies is "counter-productive" to achieving sustainable productivity growth. He emphasized that while subsidies can help "future-proof" the industry, they are not sufficient to drive the kind of innovation and efficiency that the sector needs in the long run.
The report also noted that individual farmers received a total of USD628 billion per year in subsidies between 2021 and 2023, which is higher than pre-pandemic levels. Most of this support, around USD334 billion annually, came from government policies, with the remainder funded by taxpayers. Interestingly, the report found that the decline in budgetary support, which fell by 10 percent, was mainly driven by a reduction in policy reforms, while higher world market prices contributed more to the increase in subsidies than any changes in agricultural policy itself.
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