The FARM Observatory
The Observatory analyzes and compares public support for agriculture and food around the world.
If agriculture and food are for all countries essential activities to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, not all support these sectors in the same way.
The FARM Foundation has developed a Global Observatory for track, analyze, and compare support granted by governments to agriculture and food.
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Why an Observatory?
Agriculture and food are at the heart of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations in 2015. They provide a essential contribution, direct or indirect, to the health of individuals, to poverty reduction, to job creation or to the protection of biodiversity and natural resourcesThis contribution is of capital importance in all countries of the planet, whatever their income level, particularly in the context of climatic, political and health shocks.
Various policies are being implemented to enable the development of the agricultural and agri-food sector across the planet. However, Today we lack a global vision of the measures and tools used to support agriculture.
The Global Observatory of Support to Agriculture, initiated by the FARM Foundation, proposes to document and analyze these agricultural policies. By aggregating multiple types of data rendered accessible to all and free of charge, FARM offers an essential tool for comparing the quantitative and qualitative aspects of agricultural support.
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What roles for the Observatory?
The Global Observatory on Support to Agriculture has a dual purpose.
First of all, it allows to monitor and evaluate public agricultural policies as well as the various commitments of States in terms of support and assistance to the agricultural sector and agri-food industries. The Observatory and the analyses that will be produced will make it possible totake into account the evolution of public action in agricultural and food matters.
Then, the Observatory, by being transparent, accessible free of charge and by making data and analyses available to these users, must allow to inform the actors who take part in the creation of public policiesIt will inform citizens, researchers, public and private decision-makers.
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List and definitions of indicators
Public expenditure on support for agriculture and food
These are all budgetary/public disbursements dedicated to the development of the agricultural sector. They include budgetary transfers to producers, transfers to consumers for access to basic products and collective services for the development of the agricultural sector (infrastructure, training, research, etc.).
Market price support
It reflects the monetary value of producer support resulting solely from measures that create a gap between the price within a country's borders and the world price for a given agricultural product. Several policy measures can influence the price of a product, such as customs duties, taxes or export subsidies, etc. In the FARM Observatory, this indicator is not available for all countries.
Full support for agriculture and food
It represents the sum of market price support and public expenditure to support agriculture and food. It is only accessible for some of the countries in the Observatory.
A methodological note is available here and explains all the calculations and sources used to construct the FARM Observatory indicators.
