OECD Data Harvest – Agriculture Policies & Global Market Outlook

Date:  Monday, November 3, 2014

Time:  9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. EDT

Location:  USDA/ERS Conference & Training Center, Patriots Plaza III, 355 E Street SW, Washington DC  20024-3221

Event Description:  A discussion by experts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on various aspects of global agriculture policy. Experts will discuss what countries are putting into and getting out of agricultural markets and what can be done to make them more sustainable.

The OECD Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation Report is a unique source of up-to-date estimates of government support to agriculture in 47 economies. Despite recent downward trends in support levels in many countries, much of that support continues to be linked to production, causing market distortions. The OECD report provides insights for policymakers, and advises a shift away from subsidizing production towards strategic investments to ensure improved agricultural productivity and sustainability for the long term.

The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook, 2014-2023 is part of an annual collaborative effort that brings together the commodity, policy, and country expertise of OECD, FAO, and collaborating countries. It projects market developments, including prices, for a broad range of commodities, including cereals, oilseeds, sugar, biofuels, meats, dairy, and cotton. Incorporation of the links between government policies and market outcomes provides context for analysis of how the effectiveness of policies can be improved, for example by boosting productivity and helping farmers' agricultural risk. In addition to OECD countries, the market projections in the report cover a large number of other countries, including Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Russia, and South Africa, as well as other developing countries.

Chair:  Gopi Munisamy, Director, USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS), Market and Trade Economics Division

Speakers:

Agriculture Policies Monitoring and Evaluation

  • Ken Ash, Director, OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate
  • Anne Effland, USDA, ERS

OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2014-2023

  • Jonathan Brooks, Head of Agro-food Trade and Markets, OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate
  • Nicholas Nelson, Director, FAO Liaison Office for North America
  • Seth Meyer, Acting Chair, USDA World Agricultural Outlook Board

Agenda:

  • 9:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.: Registration & Coffee
  • 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.: Presentation & Discussion
  • 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: Q&A