Can political science contribute to agricultural policy?

The contribution made by political science to the study of agricultural policy and the food chain is reviewed with an emphasis on the literature on interests. There is a fundamental question about 'Who benefits?' from government policy. Six general propositions are extracted from this literature and assessed. Directions for future theoretical and empirical work are discussed, it being argued that accounts of how policy agendas are constructed could be particularly helpful. Political science needs to move beyond its existing frameworks of analysis and develop a more interdisciplinary political economy approach. (C) 2012 Policy and Society Associates (APSS). Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.