抄録
In view of the next round of multilateral trade negotiations, OECD and WTO have been examining environmental aspects of agricultural policy and trade liberalization, focusing on the creation of agroenvironmental indicators and the application of the polluter pays principle (PPP) to the farming sector. The author discussed the fundamental problems of agro-environmental policy, that underlie the recent development of the above-mentioned examination, from the economic point of view.
Firstly, collaboration with natural sciences and further empirical studies are essential to clarify the relationship between agricultural protection and the intensity of farming. In theory, with certain types of technical change, reduced protection does not necessarily result in less intensive farming practices.
Secondly, the reasons for the PPP being rarely applied to agriculture were discussed. In addition to the non-point characteristics of agricultural pollution, the market structure of agriculture and the assignment of environmental property rights are important.
Thirdly, a number of reasons why farming is regarded as environmentally-friendly in Japan were identified. It should be noted, however, that strengthened agricultural protection in developed countries might discourage the evolution of agricultural production in less developed countries.
