Public Policy and Expenditure

The bulk of government support to agriculture provides short-term benefits that are often at the cost of long-term outcomes for people, economies, and the planet. Globally, agriculture receives more than $700 billion a year in public support. Much of this is poorly targeted: each subsidized dollar farmers receive generates only 35 cents in additional output. Agricultural policies play a critical role in the development of resilient food supply chains. But many policies create incentives that favor unsustainable production, increasing emissions, accelerating land degradation, and discouraging a focus on nutrition.

We work with governments to review policies to accelerate the transformation of agriculture and the food system. Well-targeted and well-designed support will promote green innovation, strengthen value chains, and reduce incentive distortions. This in turn will sustainably boost productivity, improve food security and nutrition, bolster farmer incomes, and improve the resilience of agriculture.

The World Bank facilitates the sharing of evidence, knowledge, and experiences of policies that work to transform the global food system. The Bank leverages its unique convening role to build common understanding, and to strengthen policy analysis, formulation, and execution. We work with governments to facilitate the adoption of more sustainable approaches, technologies, and practices, alongside policies that promote public and private sector investment. We invest $6 billion annually in global agriculture to sustainably improve food and nutrition security, boost economic growth, and reduce poverty.