World Bank2014-07-172014-07-172009-09https://hdl.handle.net/10986/18897Productivity in Belarus' agricultural sector has improved considerably, but large parts of crop and livestock production are not internationally competitive. The state's regulatory and fiscal support system for agriculture has been instrumental in improving the sector's performance. But the massive distortions to agricultural incentives it creates to prevent the sector from reaching its full potential. And the high costs it causes to state budget may be difficult to sustain in view if shrinking fiscal space. Agricultural sector efficiency and competitiveness in Belarus can be increased by re-orienting the sectoral policy framework towards less distortive measures and reallocating associated budget expenditures to support sustainable agricultural growth. Assistance program could be provided to buffer against structural adjustment shocks. The government will thus achieve its sectoral goals to a higher degree, without compromising on other important policy areas such as food security and rural livelihoods, and possibly even at lower cost to the state budget. This note provides an economic justification for such reforms and outlines some potential elements.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCEAGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTAGRICULTURAL EDUCATIONAGRICULTURAL EXPORTSAGRICULTURAL GROWTHAGRICULTURAL INPUTSAGRICULTURAL LABORAGRICULTURAL LANDAGRICULTURAL OUTPUTAGRICULTURAL POLICIESAGRICULTURAL POLICYAGRICULTURAL PRICESAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIONAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITYAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTSAGRICULTUREANIMALANIMAL FEEDANIMAL HEALTHANIMAL OILSANIMAL ORIGINANIMAL PRODUCTIONANIMAL PRODUCTSANIMALSASSETSBANK LOANSBARLEYBEEFBEVERAGESBRANBREADBUDGETARY SUPPORTBUTTERCALVESCAPACITY BUILDINGCATTLECENTRALLY PLANNED ECONOMYCEREALSCHEESECOCOACOFFEECOLLECTIVE FARMSCOMMODITYCOMPARATIVE ADVANTAGECOMPETITIVENESSCONDENSED MILKCONFECTIONERYCONSUMER DEMANDCONSUMERSCOOPERATIVESCORNCREAMCROPCROP PRODUCTIONCROP PRODUCTSCROP YIELDSCROPPINGCROPPING PATTERNSCROPSDAIRYDAIRY FARMSDAIRY INDUSTRYDAIRY PRODUCTSDEBTDEVELOPMENT POLICYDOMESTIC DEMANDECONOMIC INTEGRATIONECONOMIC JUSTIFICATIONEGGSEQUIPMENTEXPORT GROWTHEXPORTSEXTRACTSFALLOW LANDFAOFARMFARM HOUSEHOLDSFARM MANAGEMENTFARM STRUCTURESFARMERSFARMINGFARMSFATSFERTILITY MANAGEMENTFERTILIZERFERTILIZERSFINANCIAL CRISISFISCAL POLICIESFISHFIXED PRICESFLAXFLOURFODDERFODDER CROPSFOOD CHAINFOOD EXPORTSFOOD IMPORTSFOOD INDUSTRYFOOD MARKETSFOOD POLICYFOOD PRODUCTSFOOD SAFETYFOOD SECURITYFOODSTUFFFRUITFRUITSGDPGRAINGRAIN PRODUCTSGRAINSGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTGROWTH RATEHARVESTERSHONEYHORTICULTURAL PRODUCTSHOUSINGICEINCOMESINNOVATIONINTEREST RATEINTERNATIONAL TRADELABOR FORCELABOR PRODUCTIVITYLIVE ANIMALSLIVELIHOODSLIVESTOCKLIVESTOCK BREEDINGLIVESTOCK FEEDLIVESTOCK PRODUCTIONLIVESTOCK PRODUCTSMAIZEMARKETINGMEALMEATMEAT PRODUCTSMELONSMILK PRODUCTIONMILK PRODUCTSMILK QUALITYMONOPOLIESNATIONAL ECONOMYOPPORTUNITY COSTSORGANIC MATTERPESTICIDEPIGSPORKPOSITIVE EFFECTSPOTATOPOTATOESPOULTRYPOULTRY PRODUCTIONPRICE CEILINGSPRODUCT QUALITYPRODUCTION ACTIVITIESPRODUCTION COSTSPRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIESPRODUCTIVITYPRODUCTIVITY INCREASESR&DRAPERAPESEEDRURAL DEVELOPMENTRURAL LIVELIHOODSRYESEEDSSHEEPSOFT DRINKSSOIL FERTILITYSOILSSTATISTICAL DATASUGARSUGAR BEETSUGARSSWEETENERSTEATOBACCOTOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITYTRADE BALANCETRADE DEFICITTRANSITION ECONOMIESTREESTRITICALEUNEMPLOYMENTURUGUAY ROUNDVALUE ADDEDVEGETABLESWAGESWHEATWHEAT FLOURWHOLESALE PRICESWOOLWORLD TRADE ORGANIZATIONWTOYIELDShttps://doi.org/10.1596/18897