<p>Farming subsidies worth around $500 billion doled out by governments every year must be repurposed, three UN agencies warned on Tuesday, citing the environmental and social damage they cause.</p>.<p>Released ahead of a UN food systems summit next week, the agencies' report is a "wake-up" for governments to rethink their agricultural support schemes, Food and Agriculture Organization director general Qu Dongyu said in a statement.</p>.<p>Global support to producers totals $540 billion per year, according to the joint report by the FAO, the UN Environment Programme and the United Nations Development Programme.</p>.<p>The agencies said 87 per cent of that aid -- $470 billion -- is "price distorting and environmentally and socially harmful".</p>.<p>"Agricultural support is not providing desirable results for sustainability and human health, but repurposing it can be a game changer," the report said.</p>.<p>A hefty portion of the subsidies, $294 billion per year, comes in the form of price incentives resulting from import tariffs and export subsidies, it said.</p>.<p>Farmers also receive $245 billion in fiscal subsidies, which can lead to "negative environmental outcomes" when they are linked to the production of a specific commodity.</p>.<p>This aid can prompt the overuse of agrochemicals and natural resources, and the cultivation of a single crop, according to the report.</p>.<p><strong>Check out the latest DH videos here:</strong></p>
<p>Farming subsidies worth around $500 billion doled out by governments every year must be repurposed, three UN agencies warned on Tuesday, citing the environmental and social damage they cause.</p>.<p>Released ahead of a UN food systems summit next week, the agencies' report is a "wake-up" for governments to rethink their agricultural support schemes, Food and Agriculture Organization director general Qu Dongyu said in a statement.</p>.<p>Global support to producers totals $540 billion per year, according to the joint report by the FAO, the UN Environment Programme and the United Nations Development Programme.</p>.<p>The agencies said 87 per cent of that aid -- $470 billion -- is "price distorting and environmentally and socially harmful".</p>.<p>"Agricultural support is not providing desirable results for sustainability and human health, but repurposing it can be a game changer," the report said.</p>.<p>A hefty portion of the subsidies, $294 billion per year, comes in the form of price incentives resulting from import tariffs and export subsidies, it said.</p>.<p>Farmers also receive $245 billion in fiscal subsidies, which can lead to "negative environmental outcomes" when they are linked to the production of a specific commodity.</p>.<p>This aid can prompt the overuse of agrochemicals and natural resources, and the cultivation of a single crop, according to the report.</p>.<p><strong>Check out the latest DH videos here:</strong></p>