Innovation, Productivity and Sustainability in Food and Agriculture
Main Findings from Country Reviews and Policy Lessons
Markets that function well within a stable regulatory and policy environment are key
to improving the productivity and sustainability of the food and agriculture sector.
This report contains the main findings and policy lessons gained from a series of
wide-ranging country reviews on how government policies can improve sectoral productivity
and sustainability through their impact on innovation, structural change, natural
resource use, and climate change. Improving the policy environment would require rolling
back those policies that distort markets the most and retain farmers in uncompetitive
and low-income activities, harm the environment, stifle innovation, slow structural
and generational change, and weaken resilience.
Agriculture policy should focus instead on measures that facilitate the uptake of
technologies and practices that use resources more efficiently and sustainably, and
which contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Of equal importance are: a
more collaborative approach, more effective governance systems, the development of
long-term strategies, strengthened linkages between national and international actors,
and comprehensive and coherent evaluation procedures. Public funding of food and agricultural
research is also crucial, and private efforts need to be strengthened, including through
public-private partnerships. Finally, improving overall policy coherence would contribute
to building trust, and to increasing policy effectiveness at each step of the food
and agriculture chain.
Published on October 03, 2019Also available in: French
In series:OECD Food and Agricultural Reviewsview more titles