Synergies Between Social Protection And Rural Development Programmes For Inclusive Food Systems

Policy coherence and systems approach are frequently discussed as essential for crafting effective policies to address poverty, food security, and nutrition. This brief elaborates on synergies between social protection and rural development programmes, with a specific emphasis on how they contribute to agrifood system outcomes. The need for stronger coherence arises from the variety of constraints faced by smallholder farmers with limited incomes. Women, in particular, experience structural discrimination and disadvantages. They often have less access to productive resources, decent employment opportunities, education, health, and social services. These constraints cannot be addressed by rural development or social protection interventions alone. This calls for an integrated approach which combines policy interventions in an intentional manner to assist smallholders in managing risks, diversifying livelihoods, and achieving a sustainable income stream. Drawing on the experiences and learnings from two ofIndia’s flagship rural development programmes namely, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the National Rural Livelihood Mission, we highlight three approaches for effectively building synergies to address food security and nutrition challenges. Firstly, investments in institutional platforms of the poor are essential to establish convergence with community-based governance structures for facilitating access to rights, opportunities, and their contributions to shaping local policies and programmes. Secondly, the adoption of innovative approaches in inclusive value-chain development is vital to achieving food security and nutrition. Thirdly, technology can be leveraged for effective territorial planning, supporting communities in making more informed decisions regarding resource allocation and management.