What a good idea . . .

Farmers in Cyprus are up in arms about government proposals to tax farm subsidies. But why not? Nearly all of the economic research shows that subsidies are a hopelessly inefficient way of  organising agriculture and they have the disastrous side-effect of pricing developing countries out of products such as cotton where - without  subsidies - they would have a competitive advantage . They are in effect a benefit in kind - so why not tax them accordingly. May this idea roll and roll . . .

Meawhile a reminder for new readers of the extent of the problem. OECD figures show, according to the Times of India , that in 2004 countries spent more than four times their official development aid budgets on support for domestic farmers.

Comments

[Moyna]

Keep up the good work.

[fotomodelle]

http://fotomodelle.deep-ice.com/

http://www.freepages.at/werty/

[Xxx]

The CAP subsidises food production. Just as we subsidise health, education, and houses. If we do not subsidise food production, then we will have more famines, and have our food security destroyed. You should campaign for Africa to have have CAP.
www.lonympics.co.uk/CAP.htm
So what if a government gives money to growing food for it's own people. India had famines under the Brittish Empire when food was even exported out of India durin famines. .

[account]

http://www.hugechoiceof.com/

[vickeegan]

A warm welcome to your blog. We need to come at this problem from all directions

[Adam Garley]

Check out my blog:

http://www.eu-subsidies-must-cease.blogspot.com/