The rise in support to agriculture, which first became apparent in 1998, continued in 1999, reaching levels not seen since the mid 1980s. Low world commodity prices, and the resulting pressure they put on farm incomes, led many OECD countries to introduce new measures or to provide additional support to farmers. These events demonstrate clearly that greater efforts are needed to advance the process of agricultural policy reform and trade liberalisation.

Agricultural Policies in OECD Countries: Monitoring and Evaluation 2000 provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date estimates of the level and composition of support to agriculture, as well as descriptions and assessments of the agricultural and related trade policies of the 29 countries of the OECD.