Social protection and agriculture: breaking the cycle of rural poverty. Marco Knowles and Silvio Daidone. 12 November 20
2015
FAO Economic and Social Development Department
The State of
Food and Agriculture
Social protection and agriculture: breaking the cycle of rural poverty Marco Knowles and Silvio Daidone 12 November 2015 Lusaka, Zambia
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Both agriculture and social protection are needed to break the cycle of rural poverty and hunger • Despite recent progress, almost 1 billion live in extreme poverty, and almost 800 million are hungry • Extreme poor and hungry increasingly concentrated in Sub Saharan Africa and in rural areas and depend on agriculture • Both social protection and agricultural interventions are needed to break the cycle of rural poverty and hunger
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In sub-Saharan Africa the poorest rely on subsistence agriculture for their livelihoods • Most beneficiaries are rural, engaged in agriculture and work for themselves – In Zambia ~80% produce crops; ~50% have livestock
• Most use traditional technology and low levels of modern inputs to produce local staples – Primarily consumed on farm
• Most have low levels of productive assets – In Zambia 0.5 hectares of land, few animals, basic tools, few years of education
• Engaged on farm, non farm business, casual wage labour • Large share of children work on the family farm – 50% in Zambia, (30% in Lesotho, 42% in Kenya)
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Combating hunger and poverty involves improving smallholder production • Support to small holder farming should be dominant approach on grounds of hunger and poverty reduction
• Kick-starting poverty reduction requires accelerated growth in smallholder production and diversification • Increasing and stabilizing domestic food production is essential for food security #sofa2015 #sofa2015
Improving smallholder production involves improving smallholder consumption • Missing/poorly functioning markets (e.g. credit, insurance) link production and consumption activities – Constrain economic decisions in investment, production, labor allocation, risk taking – Safety (eat) first, rather then profit maximization – Short term time horizon
• Implications for “social” side—you cannot separate from production/livelihoods – Dedicate time to domestic chores & care giving or to working on the farm? – Send children to school or to work? – Invest in schooling and health or in production? – Produce cash crops, diverse foods or staple food?
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Social protection improves immediate access to food and reduces poverty • Social protection reduces poverty ─ In 2013 social protection measures prevented 150 million people worldwide from falling into poverty
• Social protection programmes reduce food insecurity and seasonal hunger: ─ Improve quantity and quality of food consumption and increase dietary diversity, improved nutrition
• Having a social protection system in place allows governments to react quickly in times of crisis • Key part of SDGs #sofa2015 #sofa2015
But social protection does more than improve food consumption: It can transform individual’s capacities to take their lives into their own hands.
from Protection to Production #sofa2015 #sofa2015
Social protection improves livelihoods …… and does not foster dependency! • Long-term effects on improved human capital and thereby labour productivity and employability • Increases on- and off-farm investment and production • Helps households manage and take risks
• Influences labour choices, but does not reduce work effort #sofa2015 #sofa2015
Evidence from cash transfer programmes in sub Saharan Africa • Zambia Social Cash Transfer Programme ─ 36% increase in land under production ─ Increased expenditure on seeds, fertilizer and hired labour led to 36% increase in value of aggregate production. ─ Increased production mostly sold—share of beneficiary households selling crops grew more than a 50 percent increase from the baseline • Lesotho CGP progamme ─ Increased inputs and crop production • Ghana LEAP programme ─ Increase in savings and engagement with social networks #sofa2015 #sofa2015
Social protection benefits communities and the local economy • Public works programmes can provide important infrastructure and community assets • Reduce burden on social networks and renew participation in these • Stimulate the local economy
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What makes social protection programmes effective? • • • • •
Sufficiently large transfer levels Regular and predictable Know who to target….and reach them Messaging matters Design AND implementation
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Social protection by itself is not enough to move people out of hunger and poverty • Agricultural interventions necessary to address structural constraints that limit access to: – – – – – – – – –
Natural resources Inputs Credit Insurance Information Markets Technologies Producer organizations Etc.
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Need coherent agricultural and social protection interventions • Coherent interventions have greater impacts • Avoid friction and counter productive outcomes • More efficient allocation of financial resources
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Social protection coverage is low and lowest in areas with highest poverty
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And more needs to be done to strengthen collaboration between the two domains • Similar goals but different strategic approaches • Increasing but limited understanding of the productive potential of the poor • Limited representation in respective coordination mechanisms
• Competing priorities and capacity constraints #sofa2015 #sofa2015
Three programming avenues for strengthening coherence • Adapt the design of social protection/ agricultural interventions • Combine agricultural and social protection interventions into a single programme • Coordinate and align multiple programmes & policies
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Need action at political, policy and operational levels • Mobilize political support
• Strengthen coordination mechanisms • Harmonize targeting • Support programme design (e.g. targeting, size of transfer, frequency, messaging etc) AND implementation • KEEP IT SIMPLE
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FAO is not a social protection agency but has a specific comparative advantage • Nexus between agriculture and social protection
• Mandate for agricultural development, eradicating hunger, malnutrition and poverty • Social protection is targeted to the extreme poor, most of whom depend on agriculture • Proven ability to provide evidence-based advice on strengthening coherence between agriculture and social protection
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For more information … The State of Food and Agriculture 2015 Social protection and agriculture: breaking the cycle of rural poverty FAO‘s major annual flagship publication
Available in: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish
www.fao.org/publications/sofa
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