Social protection and agricultural development

Evidence presented in the previous chapters makes a strong case for providing social protection measures, particularly income transfers, to rural households, who comprise the vast majority of the world’s poor and rely on agriculture for substantial parts of their incomes. While recipients of social protection transfers can become more productive, their purchases of food and other local goods and services can also stimulate the local economy more broadly. But social protection, as essential as it is for the poor and vulnerable, will not transform local economies by itself: it can only play a supporting role. Social protection cannot address all the structural constraints as well as market and infrastructural weaknesses that rural farm households face. To address poverty and food insecurity in the context of rural development and agricultural transformation, both social protection and agricultural policies and interventions are needed.

Sustainable Development Goals:

No Poverty

Responsible Consumption and Production

Decent Work and Economic Growth