OECD warns: agricultural subsidies miss the mark

Governments worldwide pour more than 840 billion dollars a year into agriculture. A huge sum, yet according to the OECD, much of that money ends up in the wrong place. The report Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation 2025 shows that this support often distorts markets and contributes little to sustainability or renewal.

More money, little change

Between 2022 and 2024, global agricultural support rose by nearly twenty percent. Still, the way countries support their farmers has changed little. A large share continues to go to price support and subsidies for fertilisers and fuel. According to the OECD, these measures fuel overproduction, trade tensions and environmental pressure.
And innovation? Only half a percent of all support is spent on it. “That is worryingly little,” the organisation says. Without greater investment in research and knowledge development, agriculture remains vulnerable.

Trade and environment increasingly linked

An increasingly strong connection is emerging between trade and environmental policy. Countries are using trade measures more often to enforce sustainability – for instance by setting requirements for CO₂ emissions in food supply chains or restricting imports of non-sustainable products. Nearly sixty percent of these measures have been introduced since 2018.
The OECD sees opportunities here but also warns that such rules may create new trade barriers and raise costs, particularly for farmers in developing countries. For the Netherlands, heavily dependent on exports, it is crucial that sustainability requirements in trade agreements are properly aligned.

Opportunities for the Netherlands

The OECD’s analysis reflects the Dutch focus on circular agriculture and sustainability. The Netherlands can build on its strong knowledge base, provided there is continued investment in research, innovation and collaboration between government, industry and research institutions.
The OECD urges governments to use agricultural support more effectively: not more money, but better spent. Rewarding farmers for their contributions to climate, biodiversity and water management – that, according to the organisation, is the way forward.

Agroberichtenbuitenland.nl