This study looks closely at policies related to two key sectors along the agricultural
supply chain. Fertilisers represent a key input into crop production. Increasingly, high
energy prices and limits to mining resources have resulted in increased fertiliser costs for
farmers, and several emerging economies have identified fertilisers as an important angle
to improve agricultural production and incomes. Downstream from the agricultural
sector, the production of biofuels has generated a significant new market for agricultural
commodities — particularly, but not exclusively in North America, Brazil and Europe —
and much of the increased production and use of biofuels has been stimulated by policy
incentives, motivated by a variety of perceived or actual benefits.