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.
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