Using Subsidies to Promote Environmental Protection in Agriculture : A Review of Programs in North America and Europe

This report examines the ways in which subsidies or payments to farmers have been used in jurisdictions throughout North America and Europe to pursue environmental ends. The report is divided into two parts. The first part examines subsidies which are directly intended to encourage environmental protection. The second part looks at means by which major domestic support programs -- programs mainly intended to support farmer incomes and encourage exports -- can be used to encourage sound agro-environmental practices by tying eligibility to minimum environmental practices.