Objective

To support governments repurpose public agricultural policies and subsidies towards measures that promote sustainable and resilient growth while reducing the sector’s environmental footprint.   

Concept and Approach

The Agricultural Incentives Flagship takes an analytical approach to develop country focused economic models that assess the tradeoffs among alternatives to current policies to achieve desired economic and environmental outcomes. Analysis will be done at individual country level as the policy issues and alternatives will be specific to the agroecological and country economic and political contexts. This approach will provide specific, technically viable and desirable options that can then be assessed for the feasibility in terms of political acceptance and effective implementation. 

Overview

Agricultural practices and expansion contribute to deforestation and ecosystem degradation, partly due to policies and subsidies that distort agricultural markets and farmers’ incentives. At a local level, repurposing agricultural support is expected increase efficiency, increase resilience, and enhanced positive environmental impacts, thus boosting global environmental benefits and contributing towards multiple Sustainable Development Goals.  

Under this flagship, PROGREEN is supporting:

• Technical assistance to review and repurpose Colombia agri-food policies.  
• Review of Nature-Based Solutions.  
• Toolkit for practitioners on repurposing agricultural policies and support programs.  

Audience/Beneficiaries

This activity will directly support the Just Rural Transition (JRT) and the Policy Action Coalition (PAC). It will engage and partner with the PAC’s knowledge and implementation partners and support knowledge sharing among the interested coalition member countries.

Progress and Expected Results

• A deep dive analysis into Colombia's agricultural sector was completed in FY22, finding that much of the country’s agricultural support is market-distorting and a main driver for the lack of competitiveness in the rice, corn and milk sectors. This market-distortion is contributing to the high GHG emissions in the rice and milk sectors and to the inefficient use of water resources in the rice sector. The study identified opportunities to repurpose the US $166 million currently spent on payments based on output and variable input use towards measures that promote nature-based solutions. 
• Work on the Nature-based solutions literature review is in progress. Set to be completed in the first half of FY23, the report will provide a comprehensive review of economic costs and benefits of nature-based solutions in the agriculture sector. The report will also provide recommendations regarding policy reforms and public support for decision-makers, as well as insights for repurposing agricultural policies to promote nature-based solutions for people, economies, and planet.  
• A joint effort with MAFAP/FAO, a first draft of the Practitioners Toolkit was produced in FY22, with the final version due for publication and dissemination in FY23.