Similarly, input subsidies are often considered an instrument that can support both rural incomes and productivity improvement. Yet, as show'n in Brooks (2012), both of these types of measures are too blunt. Price support is not only inefficient, resulting in market distortions and a consequent waste of resources that poor economies cannot afford, it is also ineffective, if not counterproductive, because many rural households are net food buyers and are worse off when they have to pay higher prices.