OECD: Rich Countries Raised Farm Subsidies in 2009

(Bridges Weekly)

The world’s rich countries boosted government support for agriculture in 2009, according to a report that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released last week. The report, Agricultural Policies in OECD Countries: At a Glance 2010, is part of the OECD’s annual effort to quantify and assess the support that its 31 developed country members provide to their agricultural producers.

The OECD found that the Producer Support Estimate (PSE) rose to US$252 billion dollars in 2009, which was the equivalent of 22% of total farm receipts in that year. In 2008, the share of farm receipts attributable to agricultural support was 21%.

The Producer Support Estimate measures the annual monetary value of gross transfers from consumers and taxpayers to agricultural producers, relative to a situation without those policy measures in place. It is one of the many indicators designed and used by the OECD for monitoring and evaluating the composition of government support for agriculture.

The highlights of the report are available in PDF form here: here. The full report can also be purchased through the OECD bookshop: OECD bookshop.