Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation 2026

Government support to agriculture increased by nearly 15%, or more than USD 121 billion, between 2023 and 2025. This increase has reversed a long‑term decline relative to production. This comes as agriculture faces more frequent and interconnected global shocks, with increasing economic impact. Yet, while this calls for predictable and forward‑looking policies, governments often use reactive, short‑term measures in response to successive crises. 

Agricultural productivity growth is slowing, while public investment in the systems that support long‑term resilience and productivity is failing to keep pace. Spending on general services such as infrastructure, research and innovation averaged USD 118 billion annually in 2023‑2025, across the 56 countries covered, but fell from 4.6% to 2.4% of agricultural production since the early 2000s. Investment in agricultural knowledge and innovation systems now amounts to around 0.5% of sector value, roughly half the level observed in 2000‑2002.

Agricultural support affects consumers as well as farmers. Policies that raise domestic food prices mean consumers also bear part of the cost of agricultural support, outweighing direct support they receive in some countries. Across the countries covered, consumers were implicitly taxed by an estimated USD 204 billion per year through agricultural support policies in 2023‑2025, equivalent to 4.4% of consumer spending at primary product prices.