Do you know CAP? It's not a baseball cap, but the Common Agricultural Policy, with about 71bn $ (50bn Euro) the largest agricultural subsidy program on earth (according to the New York Times, cf. link below), run by the EU. Some say it is also the biggest cRap on earth... which led then to slogans demanding to scrap it (Adam Smith Institute, LYMEC, cf. links below).
Notorious for its loopholes and its benefits not just to farmers, but also to nobilities, pharma companies, large dairy producers, sugar processors, gummy bear (candy) producers etc...
The OECD complains about leakages to unintended beneficiaries, while farmers (the main beneficiaries) complain about being neglected, but the European Commission may defend the CAP as boosting "rural development". Throughout history, there have been many, and vastly different approaches to explain and support the CAP. Most of them, however, do (in)directly rather protect and support industries, instead of pushing for innovation and "development".
Worse off are consumer in Europe, who have to pay more for some basic food stuff than in other parts of the world. Import tariffs as well as domestic production/development support are just two of the channels that make developing countries worse off, as they cannot compete and lack sufficient market access to the Western agricultural produce markets. In return, some Western states still provide food aid to developing countries that provide disincentives for them to develop their agriculture, and thus keep them underdeveloped...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/business/global/17farms.html?ref=global-home
http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/international/time-to-scrap-the-cap-200805111351/
http://www.lymec.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=613
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