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This paper analyses the technical efficiency of arable farms in Serbia and its determinants using a two-stage double bootstrap Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach on the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) data from 2014 and 2015 with special emphasis on the impact of agricultural subsidies on the technical efficiency of arable farms in Serbia. Bias-corrected DEA efficiency scores were first calculated and then regressed on a set of explanatory variables using the double-truncated regression approach. The estimates suggest that the share of rented land, land to labour ratio and financial stress variables are the main determinants of arable farm efficiency in Serbia. For the subsidies we found that area payments and input subsidies have some impacts on the technical efficiency of arable farms. In contrast, investment and other subsidies were found to have an insignificant impact on farm technical efficiency. These results suggest that the future potential shift of the Serbian agricultural support towards the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)-like area based payments is expected to have a minimal but likely positive impact on farms technical efficiency in Serbia.

The paper analyzes recent legislation in the field of the agriculture and rural development financing support in the Republic of Serbia. Legislative policy in this area is conditioned by the need to be established the market-based instruments and to be improved the segment of agriculture and rural development financing, as well as by the need for harmonization with EU legislation and the rules of the World Trade Organization.In the Republic of Serbia it is in preparation or effective the set of laws aiming at establishment of the financing instruments, as well as the risk management instruments operating in the agricultural sector. In the area of the agriculture and rural development financing it is of a great importance the Law on incentives in agriculture, which defines the conditions for eligibility for subsidies, The Law on financing agricultural production and the Law on public warehouses for agricultural products, as well as The Draft Law on commodity exchanges. In the research and analysis there were used several methodological procedures, such as the desk research method, the methods of analysis and synthesis, deduction method and methods of descriptive statistics. The paper concluded that it is necessary to increase the funds available for financing of these areas. Furthermore, one of the paper conclusions is that the transition to EU models and subsidy programs in the area of the agriculture and rural development financing should be adapted to the local conditions and needs.

No Brasil, a vasta experiência e aptidão para os agronegócios geram reflexões sobre as implicações das políticas agrícolas e fiscais sobre a formação de preços dos alimentos e, por conseguinte, sobre a segurança alimentar. Destarte, o presente estudo visa avaliar o impacto da Política de Garantia de Preço Mínimos Agrícolas, do crédito rural e da carga tributária indireta sobre os preços dos principais alimentos da cesta básica de Porto Alegre (RS), Brasil. Para tanto, as estatísticas descritiva e inferencial foram empregadas na identificação de relações de causalidade entre as variáveis no período de janeiro/2005 a abril/2011. Observou-se que as regressões lineares múltiplas demonstraram significância estatística, com exceção das estimadas para os preços do café e farinha de trigo. Ainda, a oferta dos produtos amostrados tende a ser elástica, considerando-se o relacionamento positivo entre preços dos alimentos e as proxies dos subsídios públicos agrícolas. Percebeu-se que variações na carga tributária indireta implicam em variações no mesmo sentido no preço do arroz, feijão, leite, óleo e pão. Por fim, considerando-se o grau moderado de associação linear entre as variáveis explanatórias e os preços dos alimentos, sugere-se que variações nestes podem ser também explicadas por fatores relacionados ao processo produtivo e concorrencial.In Brazil, the vast experience and ability for agribusiness generate reflections regarding implications of fiscal and agricultural policies on the food pricing and, consequently, on food security. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the impact of the Minimum Price Policy for Agriculture, rural credit and indirect taxes on prices of some of the more important food from the Food Basket of Porto Alegre (RS), Brazil. To this end, descriptive and inferential statistics were used to identify causal relationships between variables in the period from January/2005 to April/2011. It was observed that multiple linear regressions were statistically significant, except those estimated for coffee and wheat flour prices. Besides, the supply of products sampled tends to be elastic, considering the positive relationship between food prices and the proxies of public subsidies for agricultural production and marketing. It was perceived that changes in indirect taxes on consumption imply variations in the same direction in prices of rice, beans, milk, oil and bread. Thus, it is worth noting that the encumbrance of essential food can hamper economic access to food in the area studied. Finally, considering the moderate degree of linear association between the explanatory variables and food prices, it is suggested that these variations can also be explained by factors related directly to the productive and competitive process.

O presente artigo analisa a prática de subsídios à agricultura no comércio internacional, tendo como principal objetivo dimensionar a sua prática enquanto instrumento econômico estratégico para o setor agrícola, especialmente para os Estados Unidos e a União Europeia. Uma completa proibição dos subsídios não é desejável porque sua prática, em essência, constitui uma alternativa à busca do bem-estar social da nação. Contudo, a utilização dos subsídios agrícolas, na forma como vêm sendo praticados, constituem-se em intervenções de cunho protecionista que provocam distorções no comércio internacional. Sendo os Estados Unidos e a União Europeia as nações que mais os utilizam no comércio internacional, tem-se gerado preocupações sobre sua própria eficiência enquanto instrumento de política comercial estratégica para o comércio internacional.This study examines the practice of agricultural subsidies in international trade, aiming at scaling its practice as a strategic economic tool primarily for the agricultural sector, especially to the United States and the European Union. A complete ban on subsidies is not desirable because its practice, in essence, is a path to improve the welfare of the nation. However, the way the agricultural subsidies have been employed, constitute protectionist interventions that distort international trade. The United States and the European Union are the major users of this instrument in international trade, a factor that has raised concerns about their own efficiency as a strategic trade policy for international trade.