According to the information compiled from the "Monitoring and Evaluation of Agricultural Policies" report of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the agricultural sector operates under the pressure of global shocks with increasing economic impacts.
In the report, which included Egypt and Peru for the first time and covered 56 countries, public supports for the agricultural sector, the effects of agricultural policies on producers and consumers, and the efficiency and durability of the sector were evaluated.
The report stated that the total support provided to the global agricultural sector reached a new peak, exceeding 950 billion dollars in 2025, and that with this increase, the ratio of agricultural supports to the production value increased from 17.6 percent in 2023 to 19.1 percent in 2025.
Thus, the report emphasized that the long-standing downward trend in the ratio of supports to production was reversed, and noted that the increase in supports in developing economies was mainly due to market price supports.
In OECD countries, the report stated that budget payments, including significant amounts of extraordinary aid provided due to disasters, came to the fore, and that a significant part of agricultural supports continued to be based on policies that change market prices, and that these practices could limit farmers' adaptation to changing production and market conditions.
SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF AGRICULTURAL SUPPORTS AMONG COUNTRIES
In the OECD report, it was emphasized that the annual average of supports provided to individual farmers in the countries examined in the 2023-2025 period was 661 billion dollars, but there were significant differences in the distribution of agricultural supports between countries.
The report noted that the importance of developing economies in both agricultural production and support policies has increased, and it was stated that developing economies are more likely to resort to policies that increase or decrease domestic prices compared to world prices, which can reduce the flexibility of agricultural production systems and weaken the sector's capacity to adapt to shocks.
AGRICULTURAL SUPPORT POLICIES INCREASED DOMESTIC PRICES OF SOME PRODUCTS ABOVE INTERNATIONAL PRICES
The OECD report also touched upon the cost of agricultural support policies on consumers. The report stated that agricultural support policies implemented in many countries increased the domestic prices of some products above international prices, and that this situation reduced the purchasing power of consumers.
The report also noted that approximately half of the total support provided to the agricultural sector in the 2023-2025 period consists of support methods that have the most potentially disruptive effects on production and trade.
The OECD report stated that the public investments required to increase the resilience of the agricultural sector and support sustainable productivity growth have not kept pace with the sector's transformation needs.
The report noted that public expenditures on general services, including agricultural infrastructure, research and development and innovation, amounted to an average of 118 billion dollars annually in the 2023-2025 period, and pointed out that the risks faced by the agricultural sector require more predictable, long-term and resilience-oriented policies.
THE CLOSING OF THE STRAIT OF HORmuz PUT ADDITIONAL PRESSURE ON AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS MARKETS
The report stated that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz puts additional pressure on agricultural inputs and indirectly on agricultural product markets. It was also reported that more than 30 urgent policy interventions were identified across countries against extreme weather events and natural disasters in the 2025-2026 period.
The report stated that the relationship between agricultural supports and environmental targets remains limited, and suggested that agricultural supports should be shifted from practices related to production and prices, which could lead to disruption in markets, to more targeted policies.
The report emphasized that investments in innovation, information systems, agricultural infrastructure and risk management should be increased, as well as supports should be more strongly associated with measurable environmental results.
