What is PolOpT?

The Policy Optimization Tool (PolOpT) is a state-of-the-art policy-modelling instrument developed by development economists in FAO’s Monitoring and Analysing Food and Agricultural Policies (MAFAP) programme.

It helps governments optimize the allocation of their public spending across agrifood policies and commodities (or subsectors) to achieve stronger socioeconomic and environmental outcomes. By analysing existing expenditure and identifying more effective allocations, PolOpT guides countries toward smarter, more impactful use of limited resources.

Through country-specific economy-wide modelling calibrated together with governments, policymakers can be given a set of alternative budget scenarios, weighing agricultural, economic, social and environmental priorities within real fiscal constraints to find the most coherent and efficient spending mix.

What problem is PolOpT helping to solve?

Government spending on food and agriculture remains limited, particularly in low- and lower-middle-income countries. Competing priorities – health, education, infrastructure – stretch budgets thin, and inefficiencies on how resources are allocated reduce the impact of every dollar spent.

At the same time, governments are trying to pursue multiple goals: the Sustainable Development Goals, climate and biodiversity commitments, and national development priorities.

PolOpT can support them in aligning these objectives within a smarter, optimal allocation of their national budget for greater impact.

What outcomes could come from leveraging PolOpT to optimize public spending?

With PolOpT, countries stand to get more more impact and policy coherence from the same budget – driving economic, social, and environmental progress together by, for example:

📈 Boosting agrifood GDP

💼 Creating off-farm jobs in rural areas

👩‍🌾 Lifting more rural people out of poverty

🥦 Making healthy diets affordable for more people

🌱 Reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions

🌾 Using less land for agrifood production

How would overall spending change?

And how would spending on crops and livestock change?

What are the benefits of making these changes?

What about the environment?

PolOpT now adds environmental objectives into the mix. In addition to the four socioeconomic goals above, the tool factors in environment and climate goals to show how optimized spending can bring down carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and use less land for agrifood production, making way for reforestation efforts and ecosystem recovery.

How does PolOpT work and how is a country involved?

Five years in the making

Watch the video explainer

Latest news on PolOpT

Find out more in the PolOpT brochure

Meet the developers

Marco V. Sánchez, PhD

Martín Cicowiez, PhD

See related publications 

See PolOpT in journals