Question

Read the following passage carefully:

Across many developing agrarian economies, traditional agricultural subsidies have historically prioritized input-based support, such as direct subsidies on chemical fertilizers, energy for irrigation, and high-yielding seed varieties. While these policies successfully elevated crop yields during the late twentieth century, they inadvertently encouraged land degradation, soil acidification, and the severe depletion of subsurface aquifers. In response to mounting ecological pressures and shifting climate patterns, contemporary policy debates emphasize transitioning toward output-based environmental stewardship rewards, particularly soil organic carbon sequestration programs. Under this proposed paradigm shift, farmers receive financial incentives not for maximizing raw tonnage of grain, but for adopting regenerative land-management practices—such as minimal tillage, cover cropping, and agroforestry—that rebuild topsoil integrity and absorb atmospheric carbon. However, institutional economists caution that implementing carbon-credit mechanisms in smallholder agricultural regimes faces substantial administrative friction. Without precise, low-cost technologies to measure soil carbon stocks across fragmented farm holdings, transaction costs will inevitably consume the financial returns intended for farmers. Consequently, a viable transition demands not merely shifting subsidy structures from inputs to environmental metrics, but simultaneously establishing robust, publicly funded digital monitoring infrastructure to ensure equitable access and ecological compliance.

Which of the following titles best captures the central thesis and core message of the passage?