UK farmers receive less support than EU counterparts, OECD finds

British farm support has fallen behind the European Union, with new OECD figures revealing a 4.4 percentage point gap between the UK and its European neighbours.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published its Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation 2026 report on Monday (2 November), highlighting differences in support for farmers across major agricultural economies.

The findings show that support to UK agricultural producers averaged 13% of gross farm receipts between 2023 and 2025, compared with 17.4% across the EU.

The figures also reveal a decline in measured UK producer support, which stood at around 18–19% between 2017 and 2021 before falling to approximately 12–14% during 2022–25.

However, the OECD's Producer Support Estimate (PSE) includes market price support alongside government payments, meaning the figures cannot be interpreted simply as a comparison of direct farming subsidies.

Market price support reflects the effects of agricultural policies on prices received by farmers, including protection provided through tariffs and other trade measures.

The OECD said fluctuations in support levels were partly driven by changes in market price support for livestock products, particularly beef and poultry.

Market price support accounted for around 26% of the UK's Producer Support Estimate during 2023–25, compared with approximately 28% across the EU.

The gap extends beyond producer support, with the UK also recording lower spending on general agricultural services relative to the size of its farming industry.

The OECD found that UK spending on services such as agricultural research, innovation and inspection averaged 2.4% of agricultural production value during 2023–25.

That compares with 2.9% across the EU and an OECD average of 3.6%, highlighting differences in investment across agricultural economies.

Around half of the UK's expenditure in this category supported agricultural knowledge and innovation, while inspection and control activities accounted for most of the remainder.

The findings come as British farming continues its transition away from the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with different support systems developing across the four UK nations.

In England, the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) remains central to the government's approach, although changes have been introduced to limit the concentration of payments and improve access for smaller farms.

The OECD highlighted a £100,000 cap on individual agreements, alongside revised application arrangements and changes to the actions available under the scheme.

Meanwhile, Scotland is introducing additional environmental conditions for farm payments, while Wales has begun implementing its Sustainable Farming Scheme.

Northern Ireland has also replaced its previous Basic Payment Scheme arrangements with a new Farm Sustainability Payment system.

The OECD warned that uncertainty surrounding future agricultural payments could make long-term planning more difficult for farmers, particularly when considering land-use changes and environmental investments.

It called for "stable, long-term incentives" to give farmers greater confidence when making decisions about their businesses.

The organisation also highlighted uncertainty over how funding will be divided between different levels of agri-environmental support in England.

It recommended more predictable multi-year funding arrangements, alongside greater investment in agricultural research, innovation and productivity.

While acknowledging recent increases in research funding, the OECD stressed that improved coordination would be needed to translate investment into productivity gains.

The findings add to questions over the future of British farm support as governments across the UK continue developing their post-Brexit agricultural policies.

However, the OECD figures do not establish whether individual British farms receive less public funding than comparable EU businesses, given the different support mechanisms included in its calculations.

The report nevertheless highlights substantial differences between UK and EU agricultural support, while reinforcing the importance of predictable payments and long-term investment for the future of British farming.