domestic politics
One of the attractions of subsidy reform for governments is that it involves reallocating existing money, rather than coming up with new money when budgets are stretched.
But these subsidies are complex, involving various instruments such as payments based on agricultural production, minimum price guarantees for goods, and income support for farmers.
First, nations must assess and understand the full extent and nature of their subsidies, their effects, said Martina Fleckenstein, head of food policy at WWF International.
“We know where we want to go. The challenge is what does this look like on a national scale?” he said.
Analysts say a key reason why reforms have been so difficult may be that many powerful interests are beneficiaries of subsidies.
According to research by the World Resources Institute (WRI) think tank, agricultural subsidies favor large farms at the expense of small farmers.
“Much of it is around domestic politics and dealing with strong domestic constituencies,” said Andrew Deutz, director of policy and finance at the conservation group The Nature Conservancy.
He added that the politics around agriculture must be decoupled from fossil fuels, however, adding that subsidies need to be reshaped to encourage positive practices rather than being pulled out of the sector entirely.
“In agriculture, we can imagine a world that is free of harmful subsidies, but we certainly want a world that has food,” Deutz said.
For example, he said the EU CAP regime has started to encourage things like protecting habitats and landscapes.
a fair transition
Whatever new agricultural initiatives are brought in to preserve nature, experts say such changes do not happen overnight – and those in agriculture will need support to adapt.
“You need a strategy to cope, it’s not that silver bullets solve all problems,” said Helen Ding, a senior economist and subsidies expert at WRI.
He said farmers need to be assured that they can maintain their income and support their families while implementing practices that protect nature.
In Costa Rica, for example, he talked to farmers who were growing organic coffee on a portion of their land alongside conventional production, to hedge against yield fluctuations and the international coffee trade.
In New Zealand, Rolston said farmers were in favor of subsidy reforms in the 1980s, but still needed support to adapt their practices.
“It was a difficult time for farmers because it happened so quickly,” said Rolston, a former president of the Federated Farmers advocacy group.
He noted that the government provided welfare, especially for those who had gone out of business – about 1% of farmers left the sector at the time – but stressed that other institutions such as banks Support was also needed.
As countries prepare to discuss harmful subsidies at COP15, Rolston said globally high food prices could make it easier for farmers to change their practices without losing out.
“The best time to do these corrections is always tomorrow, and the second best time is when prices are high enough to be able to manage that transition,” he added.