Need for Agricultural Policy Objectives
Importance of agricultural policy emphasize almost same objectives like: to provide food for the inhabitants of the nation (food security and sufficiency) and export excess to other countries and to provide rural dwellers and farmers with extension services, agricultural support and rural development services.
In this article you will learn the need for agricultural policy objectives, which is a crucial aspect of agricultural policy and development. There is need for the explicit statement of the food policy objectives of any nation.
There is need for nations to have policy objectives in order to be able to measure the impact of such policies on the beneficiaries through counterfactual analysis.
Need for Agricultural Policy Objectives
Agricultural policy describes a set of laws relating to domestic agriculture and imports of foreign agricultural products. Governments usually implement agricultural policies with the goal of achieving a specific outcome in the domestic agricultural product markets.
Agricultural policies use predetermined goals, objectives and pathways set by an individual or government for the purpose of achieving a specified outcome, for the benefit of the individuals, society and the nations’ economy at large.
Agricultural policies take into consideration the primary, secondary and tertiary processes in agricultural production. Outcomes can involve, for example, a guaranteed supply level, price stability, product quality, product selection, land use or employment.
There is need for the explicit statement of the food policy objectives of any nation for the following reasons:
1. It gives clarity of purpose regarding what it is the country hope to achieve and therefore acts as a good barometer for gauging or measuring performance in the future.
2. A clear statement and specification of objectives provides the basis for the choice of optimal policy instruments for achieving the stated objectives.
It thus helps to avoid confusion in the statement in the selection of appropriate policy instruments for achieving stated objectives.
3. We are in a better position to measure policy performance as well as determine the effectiveness of policy instruments when the objectives of policy are clearly spelt out.
4. When objectives are well-stated, both inter-and-intra-sectoral conflicts in objectives are more easily identified and corrected or avoided.
5. Clear and explicit specification of objectives easily revealed the underlying preferences, assumptions, beliefs, biases and value system of the country or policymaker as the case may be.
6. The ranking of objectives both inter-and intra-sectorally becomes easier and simpler when they are explicitly and unambiguously specified.
From the foregoing, it is clear that a well-articulated and explicitly prepared agricultural policy statement provides for the identification of the policy target, measurement of policy impact, as well as determination of the effectiveness of policy instruments.
It also enhances the monitoring of policy during implementation, and the initiation of policy reviews when deemed necessary.
All these will undoubtedly improve policy consistency by minimizing the difference between policy targets or intentions and realized output (or impact).
Read On: The Concept of Policy and Agricultural Policy
Conclusion on the Need for Agricultural Policy Objectives
In this unit you have learnt about the need for agricultural policy objectives. It is clear that a well-articulated and explicitly prepared agricultural policy statement provides for the identification of the policy target, measurement of policy impact, as well as determination of the effectiveness of policy instruments.
In this post you know that there is need for the explicit statement of the food policy objectives of any nation for reasons stated above, which among them are:
It gives clarity of purpose regarding what it is the country hope to achieve and therefore acts as a good barometer for gauging or measuring performance in the future.
It provides the basis for the choice of optimal policy instruments for achieving the stated objectives.
It thus helps to avoid confusion in the statement in the selection of appropriate policy instruments for achieving stated objectives.
It helps to measure policy performance as well as determine the effectiveness of policy instruments when the objectives of policy are clearly spelt- out.
It easily reveals the underlying preferences, assumptions, beliefs, biases and value system of the country or policy-maker as the case may be.
