A Policy Taxonomy for Agricultural Transformation

The briefing introduces a policy taxonomy for agricultural transformation that categorizes interventions based on their target: agricultural markets, the rural economy, the macroeconomy, or institutions. It emphasizes the concept of 'anti-agricultural bias'—where policies favor other sectors like industry over agriculture—and argues that removing this bias is a critical precondition for successful agricultural transformation, citing Brazil and Vietnam as positive examples and Ethiopia, Malawi, Togo, and Uganda as countries where such bias persists.

• Agricultural transformation is hindered by 'anti-agricultural bias,' which occurs when policies provide positive assistance to other sectors, such as industry, while penalizing or remaining neutral toward agriculture.
• Anti-agricultural bias can stem from both active policy distortions and the absence of policies, such as when public investment in education and infrastructure is disproportionately concentrated in urban areas rather than rural ones.
• Removing anti-agricultural bias is an essential precondition for agricultural transformation, as evidenced by the success of Brazil and Vietnam, whereas countries like Ethiopia, Malawi, Togo, and Uganda continue to struggle due to persistent bias.

APA

Baliño, S., Laborde, D., Murphy, S., Parent, M., Smaller, C., & Traoré, F. (2019). A Policy Taxonomy for Agricultural Transformation. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/agricultural-transformation-taxonomy.pdf

Chicago

Baliño, Sofia, David Laborde, Sophia Murphy, Marie Parent, Carin Smaller, and Fousseini Traoré. A Policy Taxonomy for Agricultural Transformation. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2019. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/agricultural-transformation-taxonomy.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Baliño |first1=Sofia |last2=Laborde |first2=David |last3=Murphy |first3=Sophia |last4=Parent |first4=Marie |last5=Smaller |first5=Carin |last6=Traoré |first6=Fousseini |title=A Policy Taxonomy for Agricultural Transformation |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=September 2019 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/agricultural-transformation-taxonomy.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{balio2019policy, author = {Baliño, Sofia and Laborde, David and Murphy, Sophia and Parent, Marie and Smaller, Carin and Traoré, Fousseini}, title = {{A Policy Taxonomy for Agricultural Transformation}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2019}, month = sep, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/agricultural-transformation-taxonomy.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }