A large proportion of government support to agriculture does not go to the farmers who need it most, says a new OECD report. Moreover, such support is inefficient in providing increased income for farmers and distorts production and trade, the study adds.

The report, Farm Household Incomes in OECD Countries, will be published in summary form at 11.30 a.m. (10.30 GMT) Friday 17 January 2003. At the same time a news conference outlining the findings will take place at the ICC Messe GmbH, Messegelaende, Halle 6.3, Pressezentrum/Raum B, Berlin, Germany. It will be presented by Stefan Tangermann, OECD Director for Food Agriculture and Fisheries.

The study shows that because most support is production-based, the bulk of it goes to the larger, often the richer, farms. In the case of support to the market price of a commodity, the study estimates that only 25% of the funding ends up as a net income gain for the farmers.

©OECD Observer January 2003