Farm subsidies are a common form of government intervention in agricultural markets, aimed at stabilizing food prices, ensuring farm profitability, and securing national food supplies. However, while some argue that subsidies protect farmers from market instability and price fluctuations, others claim that they distort market competition, encourage overproduction, and disproportionately benefit large agribusinesses rather than small farmers. This project challenges students to compare different sources on the impact of farm subsidies and evaluate whether they help or harm farmers in the long run.

Students will gather and analyze multiple sources—such as government reports, economic research papers, industry articles, and opinion pieces from farmers or agricultural organizations—to examine how different perspectives shape the debate on farm subsidies. They should explore how subsidies influence supply and demand, whether they support food security or create market inefficiencies, and whether they favor large-scale industrial farms over small, independent farmers.

A key part of this analysis is investigating the long-term effects of subsidies on market equilibrium. Some sources may argue that subsidies prevent farm bankruptcies and stabilize food prices, while others may claim that they encourage dependence on government aid, distort global trade, or lead to environmental issues from excessive farming practices. Students should critically evaluate whether subsidies create unintended negative consequences, such as promoting inefficient farming or harming developing nations by making it harder for their farmers to compete in global markets.

The final comparative analysis will assess how different sources present the role of farm subsidies, discussing biases, economic reasoning, and factual evidence. The goal is to help students understand how government intervention affects agricultural markets and whether policy changes could create a more sustainable system for both farmers and consumers.