An agricultural subsidy (also called an agricultural incentive) is a government incentive aimed at agricultural production with the objective of regulating agricultural production. Agricultural subsidies make it possible to manage the supply of agricultural products and influence the cost and supply of these products. Examples of such products include: wheat, food grains (feed grains, corn, sorghum, barley and oats), cotton, milk, rice, peanuts, sugar, tobacco, oilseeds such as soybeans and meat products such as beef, pork, lamb.[1]​.

Aid can be of different types, which can be summarized in two fundamental groups: direct aid (per kilos, surfaces, heads of livestock, etc.) or indirect aid (reduction in taxes on products or expenses necessary for agricultural activity).

Agricultural subsidies were originally instituted to stabilize markets, assist low-income farmers, and aid rural development.[2]​ In the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which created the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA). This came as a result of the series of programs, public works projects, financial reforms and regulations enacted by the president known as the New Deal. The AAA helped regulate agricultural production by reducing surplus and controlling the supply of agricultural products in society. By controlling seven crops (corn, wheat, cotton, rice, peanuts, tobacco, and milk), Congress was able to balance the supply and demand of agricultural products by offering payment to farmers in exchange for them ceasing to cultivate part of their land.[3] Unlike traditional subsidies that promote the production of products, Congress recognized that agricultural prices needed to be boosted and did so by limiting the production of these crops.

Within the European Union, agriculture is subsidized or subsidized, with certain products having a great weight on farmers' incomes.

The European Union, through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the CMO (Common Market Organizations), regulates and subsidizes agricultural production in different ways. This is done mainly through 3 mechanisms:

These measures are criticized as they make world market prices too low to the detriment of farmers in poor countries.

In Europe, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was launched in 1962 to improve agricultural productivity. According to the European Commission, the act aims to: