Dynamics of farm performance and policy impacts: Main findings
Increasing productivity at farm level is a key policy objective across most countries
and fundamental to the overall performance of agricultural and food systems. This
paper applies dynamic statistical methods to farm level data in order to identify
the determinants of farm performance over time, in terms of productivity and measures
of local sustainability. The analysis sheds light on the effects of policies on productivity,
and the links between productivity and sustainability outcomes. It draws on key findings
from seven case studies: crop farms in Australia, France, Italy and the United Kingdom
(England and Wales); and dairy farms in the Czech Republic, Denmark and Norway, with
different sample periods, from the most recent three decades to the last five years.
A key finding is that policy changes increasing the degree of decoupling of payments
have a positive impact on productivity. Furthermore, with the right incentives, productivity
growth can be more locally sustainable insofar as farms can produce more output with
less inputs that harm the environment. The detailed background work on the seven samples
of crops and dairy farms in the above countries is available in OECD Food, Agriculture
and Fisheries Paper N°165.
Published on July 13, 2021
In series:OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papersview more titles