OECD Report Says Gov't Agricultural Support Distorts Trade
Roughly half of total government support to agricultural industries in the world’s leading farming nations distorts production and trade, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said in the latest version of an annual report released Sept. 18. That…
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agricultural support rose during 2012, reversing historic lows registered the previous year, while shifting away from support linked directly to production, the report said. Emerging markets are more reliant on border protection and market price supports that levy taxes on consumers. “Meeting the needs of a growing and richer world population requires a shift away from the distorting and wasteful policies of the past towards measures that improve competitiveness, allowing farmers to respond to market signals while ensuring that much-needed innovation is fully funded,” said OECD Trade and Agriculture Director Ken Ash in a press release. The report analyzes agricultural policy in 47 countries that account for almost 80% of global agricultural output. Countries that have offered farmers the highest levels of traditional support, including Japan, Korea, Norway and Switzerland, recorded increases, the 2013 OECD report said. The report advocates divorce between farm support and production, a relationship the OECD claims favors large farms.