Agricultural policies are not up to the climate challenge, points out the OECD

Ineffective, poorly targeted, potentially bad for the environment… The majority of policies put in place around the world to support agriculture do not allow the sector to properly prepare for climate change, notes, Monday October 30, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In total, the agricultural sector benefited from $851 billion in support per year between 2020 and 2022. “If some can promote adaptation, the majority do not really facilitate, or even hinder, the efforts made in this direction by producers,” explains the document.

While the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently warned of “extreme weather phenomena” increasingly frequent and serious, which hit agriculture hard (3,592 billion euros in losses in crops and animal production in 30 years), the OECD emphasizes that “Climate change is creating unfavorable conditions for crops in most parts of the world.”

However, the bulk of current aid can “prevent necessary structural changes” for example by encouraging farmers to concentrate on a few products, which “prevents them from planting more in response to evolution” climate, notes Mathias Cormann, Secretary General of the OECD. Instead of “strengthen existing production structures” as is currently the case “the essential” support, “We need agricultural policies that promote agility and encourage adaptation in a changing environment”, explain the experts. The report comes one month before the COP28 international climate conference in Dubai, supposed to officially establish that the objectives of the Paris agreement are, for the moment, not being met.