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Existing research demonstrates why farmers demand subsidies, but remains ambiguous as to why consumers/taxpayers support or rather do not oppose such subsidies. We approach this puzzle from two angles: how sensitive are citizens to cost implications of agricultural subsidies, and what is their "value function" with respect to agricultural policy? We argue that farm subsidies, besides benefiting farmers, promise to generate an array of non-market goods that serve various interests in society and thus receive strong support overall. To test our argument, we conducted conjoint survey experiments in two countries: Switzerland and the United States. Our results show that while cost implications only marginally reduce support for subsidies, support is positively affected by the allocation of subsidies to various policy goals, such as guaranteeing food security and enhancing animal welfare. These findings suggest that individual-level support for agricultural subsidies does not result from a lack of information, but reflect genuine appreciation of the perceived multi-functionality of agricultural subsidies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agricultural sector is being supported in Turkey, as well as in the world. The issue of competitiveness is observed in agriculture, despite supports. This study aims at investigating the impact of agricultural supports in Turkey on competitiveness of agricultural products. Vector autoregression (VAR) model has been adopted in the study. The internal terms of trade (TOT), percentage producer support estimate (PSE), and the producer nominal protection coefficient (NPC) variables have been included in the model. The internal terms of trade in Turkey have developed over time against the benefit of agricultural sector. PSE has had a significant impact on TOT. Therefore, the use of PSE as a political variable has been concluded as a significant. Means of support must be discussed in Turkey more than the amount of supports. In particular, supports that will provide farmers with competitive advantage and boost up product farmyard prices will be more efficient and beneficial for farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts to explain why the pattern of rice imports in Indonesia and the Philippines, two countries that share many similarities, differ as their respective presidential elections approach: rice imports tend to increase in the Philippines yet fall in Indonesia. The mainstream agricultural political economy literature can only help provide partial answers because it overly stresses the influence of material factors within institutional frameworks. To more fully come to grips with this contrasting pattern, we also need to understand how ideas impact politics and where these influential ideas originate. I find that Indonesia's more pro-peasant, economic nationalist history, as compared to its Philippine counterpart, acts as a constraint on that country's politicians. It compels them to reduce rice imports as elections approach in order to appear more populist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embedded in the debate in the Philippines over food security and food sovereignty are three conventional reasons why the country is a longstanding rice importer: geography, exploitative international policy pressure predicated on the dictates of neoliberalism, and colonial history. This paper argues that these conventional reasons share two limitations. First, they attribute mono-causal reasons for perennial rice imports, either in the form of geography, exogenous power, or history. While these perspectives are not wrong, each on its own is inadequate. Multiple, contributing factors have and will continue to abound. Second, each of these arguments limits Filipinos' agency. Through a four-part argument, I show how Filipinos have had more say in the reasons for serial rice imports than these conventional accounts allow. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper studied the development of the agro-food sector trade in the Republic of Moldova and the European Union. Also, within this study tehre were identified the possibilities and limits of trade in the agro-food sector development to demonstrate the importance of agriculture for the economic development of the Republic of Moldova. To accomplish this, it was conducted an analysis during the period 2003-2013. Various reserach methods such as: analysis and synthesis, comparison method, induction and logical inference were used to determine the possibilities and limits to growth competitiveness and efficiency of the sector. The new opportunities of the EU market on one side (hand) and the Republic of Moldova on the other side (hand) will boost investments, stimulate the modernization of agriculture and improvement of working conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research we intend to do an analysis of the economic and commercial policies development of the agro-food sector, in terms of ensuring the food security of the Republic of Moldova, in the context of integration into the European Union. We will mention international best practices, but also the EU member countries to assess the process of modernization of agriculture; marketing analysis of domestic agricultural products compared to other EU member countries, policy analysis for the development of agro-food production necessary to ensure Moldova's food; elaboration of recommendations to reduce the risks in the agro-food sector of Moldova. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]