Sustainable Development Goals

Indicator 2.a.1 - The agriculture orientation index for government expenditures

The Agriculture Orientation Index (AOI) for Government Expenditures is defined as the Agriculture Share of Government Expenditures, divided by the Agriculture Share of GDP, where Agriculture refers to the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector. The measure is a currency-free index, calculated as the ratio of these two shares. This indicator will measure progress towards SDG Target 2.a.

Target 2.a

Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular least developed countries.

Impact

Government expenditure data gives potential for improved food security, reduced inequalities, inclusive growth and the creation of decent jobs.

Key results

Government spending in agriculture with the aim of enhancing the sector’s productive capacity creates a conductive environment for supportive investment by other players. However, in general the agriculture sector continues to face a declining importance relative to other sectors when it comes to compare government spending on agriculture vis-à-vis its contribution to total economy. 

The agriculture orientation index (AOI) - which measures the central government contribution to the agriculture sector compared to the sector’s contribution to GDP —fell from 0.42 in 2001 to 0.26 in 2017 worldwide. For the 2015-2017 period, the average AOI was highest in Western Asia & Northern Africa (0.42), and lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa (0.20). 

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