Evaluation of Agricultural Policy Reforms in the European Union

This report provides an overview of the main characteristics and structure of the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and its developments in the last 25 years in a changing environment within and outside the EU. Drawing on material presented at the OECD Workshop on the Disaggregated Impacts of CAP Reform, held on 10-11 March 2010, and model-based scenarios, it analyses the impacts of policy changes on production, trade, land use, farm structure, the environment and some aspects of rural development, using changes in the level and composition of OECD indicators of support, notably the Producer Support Estimate (PSE). This report further suggests improvements in the market orientation, competitiveness and risk management at all levels of the food chain, and pleads for clarifying the link between policy measures and objectives through better targeting, and strengthening evidence on which to base policies.