An annual monitoring report is produced containing the latest policy developments and measures of support and protection in OECD countries, while non-OECD countries are reported on every second year. The European Union is treated as a single entity. Significant  reform efforts in individual countries are subject to in-depth analysis of conformity with reform principles and  likely impacts. In-depth country studies are undertaken for non-OECD countries that are major players on agricultural and agro-food markets.

Decoupling is about breaking the link between agricultural support instruments and commodity production. It is enshrined in OECD reform principles as a necessary step in the reform process. The degree of decoupling of alternative policy instruments is studied using a variety of methods and analytical tools. Multifunctionality is about the role that agriculture plays beyond the production of food and fibre. An economic framework for the analysis of this phenomenon has been developed and its policy implications are studied.

Governments worry about the welfare of farm families and much of the policy effort is intended to raise incomes. The income situation of farm households is reviewed regularly as is the efficiency of different agricultural policy instruments in generating income for them. How to deal with risk as policy reform goes ahead is another pre-occupation. Impediments to structural adjustment are identified. Increasingly, developments in the food economy beyond the farm gate, including the changing perceptions and demands of society and consumers, affect farmers. These changes are kept under review.

OECD governments are generally aware of the inadequacies of the policies followed in the past, but still find it hard to get onto a firm reform trajectory. Ways to overcome the difficulties they experience are explored and, drawing on member country experiences, the operational characteristics of the policies that should constitute the positive reform agenda are defined. This work is founded on the ministerial advice that policies should be decoupled, targeted, tailored, equitable and flexible.