PARIS, 09 Nov. - (ANA) - The rising need for food systems to sustainably meet global nutrition needs and support the livelihoods of those working along food systems, highlights the necessity of policy reform to enable innovation to produce more with less.

 

Total agricultural support has declined since its peak in 2021, averaging USD 842 billion per year from 2021 to 2023 across 54 OECD member countries and major emerging economies covered by the report. However, much public support hinders both productivity and sustainability objectives.

 

Agricultural markets face a multitude of challenges, including conflict, extreme weather events and export restrictions. When allocated intentionally, agricultural support policies can help the sector address these obstacles and aim to ensure food systems function well. However, since 2002, the investment of support to agriculture in key general services, such as innovation, biosecurity and infrastructure dropped to 12.6%.

 

To achieve productivity and sustainability goals, significant reforms in the agriculture sector are needed. Backing innovation, a key element to sustainable productivity growth, is essential to securing the future of global food systems. By increasing agricultural outputs and using fewer inputs, governments can reduce environmental impact.

 

This underscores the need to reorient support towards general services, including well-targeted investments in innovation, to boost robust and sustainable productivity growth, thereby increasing the sustainability of the agricultural sector.

 

The Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation 2024 features the latest data and analysis on public support policies and looks at how reform can help meet productivity and sustainability goals to ensure that food systems are fit for purpose for current and future generations. 

 

 

 

 

Sustainable agricultural productivity growth is the way forward to improve the environmental sustainability of agriculture while ensuring livelihoods and meeting the food and nutrition needs of current and future generations.

 

Last week, as part of the conference Sustainable Agricultural Productivity to Address Food Systems Challenges: Measurement, Data, Drivers and Policies, the OECD welcomed experts and policymakers from around the world to discuss how sustainable productivity growth led by innovation can address the triple challenge of food systems.

 

As “what we can’t measure, we can’t manage”, the conference focused on translating and orienting research efforts to policy to measure agricultural performance for achieving sustainable productivity growth, discussing state of the art data and measurement methods.   - (ANA) -

 

To download the report, visit: file:///Users/mac/Downloads/74da57ed-en.pdf

 

AB/ANA/09 November 2024 - - -