FCDO Memoranda in response to the International Development Committee Inquiry: The UK Government’s work on achieving SDG2: Zero Hunger

Introduction

The FCDO and HMG’s approach to SDG2 in ODA-eligible countries

Strategy

FCDO led, SDG2 related strategies

Other Government Departments

Structures

Spending

FCDO Food Security Spend

FCDO Nutrition Spend

Programmes and Investments

Robust and evidence-based approach to programme delivery

Famine response

From crisis response to anticipation and prevention

Conflict as a driver of hunger

Addressing global malnutrition

Building a climate resilient and sustainable food system

Harnessing science and technology for sustainable food security

Leveraging the international finance system

British International Investments (BII)

Targeting and Reaching the Most Vulnerable

Other Government Departments’ work

Governance

Department for Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

Department of Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT)

Monitoring and Evaluation

Evaluation

Results

Next steps

Working multilaterally

The Rome-based agencies (RBAs)

UNFCCC

CBD

WTO Engagement on Food Security

G7/20

Private Sector

Other mechanisms/platforms for engagement

Introduction

1. The world is off track to meet SDG2: Zero Hunger by 2030. It is facing a protracted food security and nutrition crisis which will impact the most vulnerable countries the hardest, driven by the deepening impacts of climate change, conflicts, and economic disruptions, exacerbated by inflation, growing debt stress and the volatility of world food prices. This submission covers HMG’s work to address food security and nutrition issues, the most acute of which are hunger and famine, and to help the world to get back on track.

2. Nearly 1 billion people experience severe levels of chronic food insecurity[1], 238 million are experiencing acute food insecurity at extreme levels[2], the UN estimates 45 million children under the age of five are suffering from wasting: the most life-threatening form of malnutrition[3], and more than one in three people globally are not able to afford a healthy diet[4].

3. Both the short-term outlook for 2024 and the longer- term prognosis are not positive. Deepening food insecurity and malnutrition threatens lives and livelihoods, especially across Africa. While global grain prices have fallen to levels before Russia’s war in Ukraine, prices remain volatile and local food price rises in low-income countries have averaged around 30%[5]. Global rice prices are at a 15-year high. Longer term, as the impacts of climate change intensify, populations grow and move, and diets change, pressure is mounting across the world to urgently develop more resilient and sustainable food systems.

4. Across UK Government we seek to use all our levers to push for progress towards achieving SDG2: Zero Hunger. These include Official Development Assistance (ODA) resources, humanitarian commitments, development toolkit, climate expertise, science and research investments, political and trade diplomacy, evidence, technical tools and partnerships. In 2022, when deteriorating food security in many countries was exacerbated by the global supply shocks and food price spikes following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we announced £372m of funding as part of the G7 collective pledge to provide $14bn to address food security and nutrition.

5. The UK spent £365 million of bilateral ODA on food security-related sectors in 2022, an increase of 44% overall compared to 2021[6]. In 2022, humanitarian food aid ODA accounted for 63% of bilateral food security ODA including a range of programmes, including cash, food and livelihoods-based assistance. Alongside wider Official Development Assistance (ODA) reductions, UK food security spending is down on the pre-pandemic five-year annual average of £644m. Within long-term food security bilateral ODA, FCDO agriculture related spend (including development and research) in developing countries accounted for £49 million in 2022.

6. In 2019 and 2020, FCDO saw record levels of nutrition spending (£856 million in 2020).[7] In 2021, FCDO’s ODA spend on nutrition dropped by 61% from 2020 levels (and dropped by 57% from 2019 and 48% from 2018 levels). There is no single reason for this. Nutrition spending was not ringfenced as part of the ODA cut process and 2021 represented a gap year between FCDO’s nutrition programming commitments over 2013-2020 and FCDO’s new nutrition programming commitments covering our business from 2022 up to 2030.[8]

7. In the short-term, our humanitarian delivery is focused on those most in need. In times of crisis, where acute hunger and malnutrition figures are high and lives and livelihoods under threat, our humanitarian support makes a difference. In 2022, the UK was the 5th largest donor (£1,148m, 3.4%) for contributions to UN appeals; including over £324m for the World Food Programme. In Somalia, although hunger continues at lower IPC[9] levels, UK assistance, alongside that of other international players, helped communities come back from the brink of famine in 2022.

8. The UK knows that it is neither effective nor cost efficient to only react. In the medium term, the UK is keeping humanitarian need down by improving anticipatory approaches and building resilience to shocks by sustaining basic services and supporting provision of social protection ahead of and during crises, which can help prevent the worst impacts and ensure funding is directed where it is most needed. The UK champions disaster risk financing mechanisms which enable governments and humanitarian agencies to insure themselves against major climate risks, improving their response to food crises.

9. UK support is ensuring that in the long term we meet future food demand with climate sensitive, sustainable agrifood production and supply chains which support people, planet and prosperity, as well as supporting essential incomes, jobs and green inclusive growth. For example, a review of FCDO’s commercial agricultural portfolio across the developing world found it is reaching 24.5m smallholder farmers, working with almost 17,500 Small and Medium Sized Enterprises and stimulating investment of £500m[10].

10. Our long-term approach also recognises that many current forms of food production and land use generate high greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change, are the main driver of nature loss and contribute to the erosion of land rights of the poorest, including indigenous people. At COP28 UK continued our strong push for food systems to be core to the main agenda, endorsed the Emirates Declaration on Agriculture, Food and Climate Action committing UK to domestic and international action, and announced up to £45 million in support through the Just Rural Transition Support Programme, in partnership with the World Bank, This programme supports policy reform that seeks to helps farmers adopt more climate sensitive agriculture, including through subsidy reform and redirecting public funds to secure more sustainable outcomes for the environment whilst protecting productivity.

11. Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) are a major source of finance for development, including SDG2. MDBs responded at pace to the food security crisis, committing over $60 billion since 2022 to address immediate needs as well as long-term drivers. As a shareholder in seven MDBs and a major contributor to the concessional arms of MDBs, the UK is critical in making support available for the most vulnerable. The UK uses its role on MDB boards and those of other governing bodies such as the Rome-based agencies (FAO, IFAD and WFP[11]) to influence policy discussions and multilateral investments in food and agriculture and humanitarian action; including through better targeting of geographies and populations, informed by global standards, demonstrated results and impacts.

12. Work is now underway to more effectively track portfolio spend and results, including capturing how we galvanise action, shift the international system and unlock finance for SDG2. Important example results achieved for the poorest and most food insecure people and for more sustainable global food systems, across the spectrum of food security challenges and programmes, include:

• Saving lives, averting famine: IPC statistics show that widespread famine in Somalia was averted in 2022, with support from UK and other international partners.
• More resilient incomes and livelihoods with food security outcomes: In Ethiopia, the UK’s support to the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) provides predictable and timely support of cash or food transfers to eight million chronically food-insecure people: the programme has lifted more than one million people out of poverty, and made recipient households 40% more food secure.
• Reducing acute malnutrition and enabling greater access to nutritious diets: our Suchana programme in Bangladesh has enabled 1.4m people to produce and consume more nutritious food, with six Bangladeshi government departments replicating good practices.
• Improved incomes and productivity of smallholder farmers: our commercial agriculture programme CASA supported nearly 60,000 smallholders in Africa and Asia in 2022-23 to improve their access to markets and to build climate resilience through their farming and land management practices.
• Increased climate-resilient crop yields through science and technology for food security: Our long-term partnership with CGIAR supports their wheat breeding programme: CGIAR wheat varieties are sown by more than 44 million families, producing more than 200 million tonnes of wheat, contributing to food security for more than 1.85bn people. UK support to HarvestPlus and the International Potato Centre has delivered 80 new varieties of climate-resilient, nutritious crops across 19 countries, reaching nearly 100 million additional individuals with biofortified foods in 2023.    
• Sustainable land management and protecting biodiversity whilst supporting agrifood production. The Ecobusiness Fund, a public-private partnership investment fund that promotes biodiversity conservation, mitigation and adaption in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America has so far supported 844,000 jobs through financing agricultural businesses and has ensured 1.13m hectares of farmland are now sustainably managed.

The Summit and beyond

13. The above preventative approach to food insecurity and malnutrition was reflected at the UK-hosted Global Food Security Summit in London in November 2023. The UK brought together over 300 experts and policy makers from around the world to discuss key long-term solutions for acting earlier and more effectively to prevent food security crises and malnutrition, and to build more resilient agriculture and food systems in the face of climate change. Sessions included a recognition of the multiple underlying causes of hunger and malnutrition, including escalating conflict.

14. The Summit was not a pledging event. However, it provided a platform for the UK to showcase a wide range of interventions led by HMG, and a range of UK and international partners to achieve SDG2. FCDO announcements included:

• Up to £100 million to respond to food security crises and their impacts in the world’s hunger and malnutrition hotspots (in addition to increased support to Gaza);
• Up to £100 million to avert famine and build resilience of households and communities to climate shocks for the most vulnerable families in Somalia, including through Government-led shock responsive safety nets, plus improvements in natural water resource management and nature-based solutions for food production and other livelihoods;
• More than £100 million in new R&D programmes to accelerate progress on developing solutions for the long-term, including climate resilient crops and pest control, including through a new CGIAR UK Centre for Science Collaboration;
• and an extra £30.7m million for support to tackle child wasting, including an additional £16m for the Child Nutrition Fund.

Further announcements and a summary of the event can be found in the Chair’s Summary.[12]

15. Summit side events moved forwards key agendas:

• The UK continued to drive efforts to unlock climate finance for fragile and conflict affected states with a follow up meeting to recent Wilton Park discussions;
• WHO used the summit to launch the first ever guidelines on the prevention and management of child wasting for which they also hosted an official side event the next morning with over 500 attendees;
• The African Investment Summit 2024 team and the Global Food Security Summit co-hosted African delegates at an Agrifood investment meeting with investors.

16. The Summit sought to galvanise action to achieve zero hunger and end malnutrition with a focus on (a) mobilising the international system to better anticipate and prevent food security crises, strengthening resilience of households, communities and agrifood systems in the face of climate change and other stresses and shocks; and (b) unlocking and leveraging additional finance, whether development, climate, private and philanthropic, towards these ambitions – a critical long term strategic objective of our work on SDG2.

17. As the global food market crisis of 2022 settles into ongoing lower-level volatility, high levels of acute hunger and malnutrition continue to rise, and stresses on local and global food security and agrifood systems deepen, especially in the global south, our strategic approach will take stock and evolve further in 2024. This will build on our strategic focus on prevention, continue to deploy our evolving range of bilateral and multilateral programmes and other finance for food security outcomes, and bring together different agendas, e.g., across the climate, agriculture, nutrition, humanitarian and science communities, for greater coherence and shared longer-term solutions. 

The FCDO and HMG’s approach to SDG2 in ODA-eligible countries

Strategy

FCDO led, SDG2 related strategies

18. FCDO’s work towards SDG 2 has reflected approaches set out in a range of publications and public commitments, including:

• The UK’s international development objectives in agriculture are set out in the Agriculture Development Conceptual Framework[13], DFID/FCDO’s Agriculture Development Policy, as published in November 2015 and mirrored in the 2017 Economic Development Strategy[14]. The Agriculture Development Policy’s broad priority to enable and support the transition to sustainable agriculture and food systems was reiterated in IR21.

• In December 2021, at the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth (N4G) summit, the FCDO committed to address the nutrition needs of mothers, babies and children, integrating nutrition into interventions across health and food systems, women and girls, climate, economic development partnerships and investments, tackling malnutrition in humanitarian emergencies and making sure nutrition is central to the FCDO’s wider work over the 8 years to 2030, using the OECD DAC Nutrition Policy Marker to track to 2030 its programming with nutrition objectives.

• In December 2021 the FCDO published the Ending the Preventable Deaths of Mothers, Babies and Children by 2030: Approach Paper[15]. This paper illustrated the government’s approach and strategic direction for tackling malnutrition by promoting global action on nutrition and sustainable food systems that make nutritious diets more affordable, accessible and climate resilient.

• The UK’s Strategy for International Development (IDS)[16] published in May 2022 reflected the need to address challenges in agriculture and the food system which cut across our development priorities, establishing a focus on tackling the underlying drivers of crises, instability and extreme food insecurity. A progress update[17] on the IDS was published in August 2023.

• In March 2023, FCDO published the International Women and Girls Strategy 2023–2030[18] which recognised the vulnerabilities faced by women and girls resulting from food insecurity and malnutrition, and the need to reflect on the role of women and girls in the FCDO’s diplomatic and development offer. This includes ensuring FCDO’s work in areas such as agriculture supports women’s economic empowerment.

• UK’s Humanitarian Framework[19] sets out how the FCDO will deliver the UK’s ambitions on humanitarian preparedness and response.

19. In October 2022, the FCDO shared an abridged version of its Global Food Security Action Plan with the Committee. This was published was part of IDC’s Second Special Report of Session 2022–23. The Action Plan set out the short-, medium- and long-term priority responses the FCDO was taking to the food security and nutrition crisis precipitated in part by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

20. The Integrated Review Refresh (IRR23) Responding to a more contested and volatile world[20] was published in March 2023 and in April 2023, the Minister for International Development and Africa gave a speech at Chatham House[21] which launched, amongst seven IRR23 development leadership campaigns, the global food security and nutrition campaign. The Food Security and Nutrition campaign framework focused down on and replaced the Food Security Action Plan developed in 2022. It included increasing the availability, affordability and quality of malnutrition treatment and prevention products, driving the shift to sustainable agriculture, and making greater use of science and R&D, alongside anticipatory action on famine risk and resilience building. The campaign provided the framework for the Global Food Security Summit[22] hosted by the UK in November 2023.

21. At the Summit, the Prime Minister announced the publication of the White Paper on International Development[23]. The White Paper sets out the UK’s vision for addressing hunger and malnutrition across the humanitarian and development continuum, including our approach to anticipating, mitigating and building resilience to humanitarian crises, as well as to building resilient food systems for people, planet and prosperity.

22. In 2024, the FCDO will facilitate a process across government to establish an internal sustainable global/international food security strategic framework. The scope is to be defined but this will include agriculture. This will set a direction of travel for food security, which recognises the interlinkages with priorities on nutrition, climate, sustainability, livelihoods and beyond, draws on the outcomes of the Global Food Security Summit, and delivers on the ambitions of the White Paper, including the ‘We will’ commitments.

Other Government Departments

23. Defra supports the delivery of the agendas above, including through relevant cross-government plans and strategies: The Integrated Review Refresh (2023); The International Development Strategy (2022); International Development White Paper (2023); 2030 Strategic Framework for International Action on Climate and Nature; and The Gilbert Initiative (2021)

24. Defra’s ODA portfolio includes programmes which support low carbon, nature positive food systems, protect and restore ecosystems and expand knowledge on biodiversity, nature and climate.

Structures

25. In Summer 2022, the FCDO established a Global Food Security Hub with 4 FTE to support coordination of the UK’s immediate and long-term response to the global food security crisis, building on long-term development and humanitarian capacity in this space. The Hub, that is now part of the Global Food Security, Agriculture and Land Department, was responsible for establishing the internal Food Security Action Plan: it now continues to drive cross FCDO and cross Whitehall action on international food security and facilitates an FCDO Director-level coordination group which meets monthly to update and set direction on food security and nutrition matters.

26. In June 2023, a new department on Global Food Security, Agriculture and Land Governance (GFAL) was established within the FCDO Humanitarian, Migration and Food Security Directorate to further improve coherence and effectiveness, to deliver the Food Security and Nutrition Campaign, develop and progress food, land and agriculture policy and programming, and oversee UK representation at the Rome-Based Agencies with responsibility over food security. It also facilitates an FCDO Director-level coordination group which meets monthly to update and set direction on food security and nutrition matters. The FCDO’s central Nutrition team is located within the Human Development Department of the Global Health Directorate. Research on food security and agriculture is commissioned through the Agriculture Research Team in the Research Directorate. GFAL coordinates with these and other relevant teams such as social protection, humanitarian, and gender.

27. The FCDO has a network of 45 food and agriculture technical specialists and will be undertaking an external recruitment exercise in 2024 to rebuild technical food and agriculture capability and respond to rising demand for technical expertise. In parallel, there is a process underway to prepare new generalist joiners to undergo professional accreditation assessment to become food and agriculture advisers. The FCDO also has a strong network of health, social development, humanitarian and climate and environment advisers that deliver on programmes and policy work relevant to SDG2.

Spending

Relevant high level spending commitments:

28. In 2024-25, the UK plans to spend at least £1bn of bilateral ODA on humanitarian assistance including for food security.

29. At the 2021 Tokyo Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit, the UK pledged to spend at least £1.5 billion between 2022 and 2030 on addressing the nutrition needs of mothers and children, tackling malnutrition in humanitarian emergencies, and making sure nutrition is central to the FCDO’s wider work over 8 years to 2030.

30. The UK will deliver on our commitment to provide £11.6 billion in international climate finance between 2021/22 to 2025/26, ensuring a balance between adaptation and mitigation and including at least £3 billion to protect and restore nature. GFAL is producing guidance to ensure that this funding is available for longer term sustainable food and agriculture programmes, and to mitigate any risk of trade-offs between benefits for climate, nature and food security.

31. The UK will continue to work towards the IDS target on restoring funding for women and girls’ work. We are also working towards a new target of at least 80% of the FCDO’s bilateral aid programmes with a focus on gender equality by 2030. 

FCDO Food Security Spend

32. A universally used and agreed method for calculating Food Security ODA does not exist. There is no specific DAC sector code or policy marker that tracks this spend. As food security is a cross-cutting issue across multiple sectors there are challenges in the tracking of this finance. There currently is no FCDO method for tracking this spend either. The Global Food, Agriculture and Land (GFAL) department are actively assessing options to improve their tracking of food security spend and results – this could include introducing a food security marker, a flexible reporting tool collected via the FCDO’s Aid Management Platform, or through an externally commissioned review, as is currently done for nutrition.

33. In the absence of universally agreed method, the FCDO has defined Food Security ODA, for the purposes of an indicative estimate, in line with the G7 Financial Report on Food Security and Nutrition (driving the accountability for the 2015 G7 Elmau Commitment to lift 500 million out of food insecurity by 2030)) agreed methodology for “Direct Assistance for agriculture, fishing, food security and nutrition” which is the amount of ODA extended to these sectors captured via OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) codes[24] which are selected by programme teams[25].  

34. This method[26] and definition have been used to give an indication of UK food security related ODA spend and to enable a comparable time series to be produced. However, it has known weakness and misalignments with other known definitions for Food Security. This method does not include all long-term social protection spend, or investments through British International Investments (BII) that will have some food security outcomes. It also does not reflect our non-financial or non-ODA Food Security activities such as our trade work.  The G7 have been making improvements to the methodology at regular intervals and have agreed on a wider revision in 2025, under the Canadian Presidency. As part of the UK’s multiannual engagement through the G7 Food Security Working Group, FCDO experts will continue to shape this and other deliverables of the working group. In the meantime, we have made a minor adjustment, not to include ODA that been allocated a nutrition sector code[27] when applying the methodology. Nutrition is tracked separately – see below.

35. The UK spent £365 million of bilateral ODA on food security-related sectors in 2022, an increase of 44% compared to the previous year, though still 43% below the pre-pandemic five year[28] annual average of £644 million.

36. ICAI reported that the UK has spent £2.6 billion on food and agriculture (not specifically SDG2) programming between 2016 and 2021. The FCDO does not use this methodology for food security. The two main differences between the Food Security ODA methodology above and ICAI’s one are i) ICAI only covered agriculture in their review, not wider food security) and ii) ICAI figure includes BII investments in the total aggregated UK bilateral agriculture ODA figure. Using the G7 agreed food security methodology for the Elmau Accountability Report adopted here, the UK spent £3.4 billion of bilateral ODA on food security related activities between 2016 and 2021.

37. As set out in the UK’s Humanitarian Framework, we prioritise humanitarian assistance to people in greatest need, protect the people most at risk, and prevent and anticipate future shocks and build resilience. In 2022, humanitarian food assistance ODA accounted for 63% of bilateral food security ODA including a range of programmes, including cash, food and livelihoods-based assistance.

38. Over the last five years, the majority of the FCDO bilateral Food Security ODA footprint has been concentrated in East Africa, Yemen and Afghanistan.  The five countries that received the largest amount of FCDO bilateral ODA on Food Security were Yemen, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Sudan – all with high acute levels of hunger and malnutrition. 

39. The amount of bilateral ODA that was focused on long term food security was £137m, accounting for 37% of bilateral food security ODA, Within long-term food security ODA, FCDO agriculture related spend (including development and research) in developing countries accounted for £49 million in 2022.

40. Across HMG, the FCDO accounts for the highest proportion of food security ODA (between 86% to 96% over the last five years). This is in part due to FCDO delivering the majority of UK humanitarian emergency food assistance.

41. A proportion of UK’s core funding to multilaterals will also be spent on food security related activities, including the Rome-based United Nations Agencies dedicated to food and agriculture: the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO); the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); and the World Food Programme (WFP). Applying the same methodology as for bilateral ODA to the latest available UK imputed multilateral shares, results in an estimate of £295 million of UK core funding spent on a food security related sector in 2021, including £40 million to WFP. This is likely to have increased since 2021 as multilateral development banks significantly scaled up their response to the food security crisis, committing $60 billion in project spend on food security.

42. The UK’s long-term food & agriculture spending has declined since 2017. The FCDO’s overall ODA budgets are planned to increase in 2024-25. Overall, the UK is increasing our support to the poorest and most vulnerable, with plans to nearly double our allocations to low-income countries next year, including more than doubling our wider bilateral support to Africa from £646m in 2023-24 to £1.364bn in 2024-25. 

FCDO Nutrition Spend

Figure 1. FCDO’s bilateral ODA spending on nutrition 2010-2021

Table 1. FCDO's bilateral ODA spending on nutrition 2010-2021

43. Every year since 2014, FCDO has commissioned independent consultants to publicly report FCDO’s annual (calendar year) bilateral ODA spend on nutrition. FCDO’s nutrition spend analysis is retrospective due to data availability, and accounts for calendar year spend on a two-year deferral.
     
44. FCDO’s bilateral nutrition spend is accounted for using the published UN Scaling Up Nutrition Donor Network (SDN) methodology to track donor investments in nutrition.[29] This process involves screening FCDO programmes to assess whether they are nutrition relevant and, if they are, classifying whether a programme and accompanying component projects are ‘nutrition specific’ or ‘nutrition sensitive’ (the latter categorised into nutrition sensitive ‘dominant’ or ‘partial’). Depending on the classification, different proportions of component spend are attributed to supporting nutrition. The aggregation of component spends attributed to nutrition provides the total figure for FCDO’s annual bilateral nutrition spend. Full detail of the process is provided in Annex 1 of the annual FCDO nutrition spend report.[30]

45. At the 2013 Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit, FCDO committed to three spending targets on nutrition, cumulatively totalling £2.93bn from 2013-2020. While FCDO narrowly missed meeting nutrition-specific and matched funding spend targets, FCDO exceeded the collective target amounts by disbursing more than £5bn and saw record levels of nutrition spending in 2019 and 2020.[31] In 2021, FCDO’s ODA spend on nutrition has dropped by 61% from 2020 levels (and dropped by 57% from 2019 and 48% from 2018 levels).

46. The definition of nutrition specific spend under the SDN methodology means this can only be attributed to a particular subset of health sector programme components. Therefore nutrition-specific spending has historically been a much smaller proportion of FCDO’s nutrition spend relative to nutrition sensitive spending. See Figure 1 and Table 1.

47. Nutrition sensitive spending can be attributed to programmes working in any development sector, if they meet the category definition provided in the SDN methodology. FCDO programmes and components tagged in the humanitarian sector have consistently represented the largest share of annual nutrition sensitive spend, often followed by the programmes and components tagged in the health sector then those working in agriculture and food security.[32] Figure 2 provides a yearly breakdown.

Figure 2. FCDO’s nutrition sensitive spending by sector, 2010-2021

48. The geographic distribution of nutrition spend has remained fairly consistent across regions since 2010. Sub-Saharan Africa has remained the greatest recipient region by volume of FCDO nutrition spend. In 2021, the top recipients of FCDO’s nutrition spend were Yemen, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, Bangladesh, DRC, Myanmar, Mozambique. Yemen has been the greatest country recipient of FCDO bilateral nutrition spend, by volume, since 2018.

49. Latest FCDO nutrition spend data from 2021 shows that 78% of FCDO's 86 nutrition spending programmes had gender policy objectives. Despite a significant 60% reduction in nutrition spend in 2021, the proportion of FCDO’s nutrition programming relevant to gender remains consistently high (79% in 2020 compared to 78% in 2021). See figure 3.

Figure 3. Gender relevant nutrition disbursements, 2015-2021

50. Between 2010–2021, 6% of FCDO’s bilateral ICF spend contained nutrition objectives (nutrition-sensitive and/or nutrition specific as per the SDN methodology referenced throughout this section).

Programmes and Investments

Robust and evidence-based approach to programme delivery

51. The UK continues to champion the production and use of evidence in our programming; and play an active role in supporting global systems that focus on food security monitoring, data and analysis as well as longer-term research programmes to fill evidence gaps. For example, our internal ‘Best Buy’ papers for agriculture and social protection, climate change, nature, economic development and humanitarian summarise recent evidence of effectiveness and cost effectiveness of different interventions and are designed to aid intervention choices to help maximise our impact. 

52. Our wider research investments in the CGIAR also provided analysis of global markets and country-level analysis, providing both a picture of how this crisis would play out and how (and how not) to address the threat of growing food insecurity and rising prices.

53. In 2022/23, a dedicated Food Security and Nutrition evidence brief was developed, serving as an evidence-based framework to guide and support the UK’s short- and longer-term response to the current food security crisis through policy advice to host governments and ODA programming. the FCDO now produces a regular ‘Monitor’ dashboard which provides key updates, trends, and statistics to inform teams of shifts in the food security landscape at global, regional and market level, and has on occasion commissioned strategic policy research and used it widely to influence the global debate, for example on potential role of private sector[33] being able to step up assistance in acutely food insecure geographies.

54. Relevant FCDO programming spans across teams and sectors and includes many multilateral and bilateral programmes.  A key part of our recent effort has been to work better across these different agendas, e.g. across the climate, agriculture, nutrition, humanitarian and research communities, for greater coherence and shared solutions. the UK uses its role on the boards and governing bodies of FAO, IFAD, WFP, the World Bank and other UN agencies and IFIs to influence multilateral investments in food and agriculture; including through better targeting of geographies and populations, informed by global standards, demonstrated results and impacts. We actively engage in groups like the WFP “Friends of Nutrition” (that we currently chair) to advance our policy priorities, with joint efforts from Rome and teams in London. Below is a summary of our key programmes under the broad themes of the Food Security and Nutrition Campaign.

Famine response

55. The UK responds in crises to avert famine, save lives and protect livelihoods of the most vulnerable, and have provided significant humanitarian funding this year to some of the world’s most severe food crises. The UK has a priority list that draws on internationally recognised data sets to identify the countries experiencing the worst food insecurity and conducts further analysis to identify those at particular risk of escalating crisis.

56. Using our G7 Presidency, the UK brokered the first ever -G7 Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Crises Compact[34], securing £5 billion in 2021 for the 42 countries one-step away from famine. The UK was one of the top 6 countries in 2022 to provide humanitarian funding to the World Food Programme, contributing £330million, helping WFP support reach over 160m people, including 90m children.

57. In May 2023, the FCDO announced an additional £143m for a new package of humanitarian support for people affected by food insecurity, conflict, and climate change in East Africa. Support this year will provide millions of people with essential services and supplies including food, clean water, nutritional support, and healthcare.

From crisis response to anticipation and prevention

58. The UK works to shift the international humanitarian system towards better, earlier action that prevents hunger crises and famine. We support better data systems to anticipate and monitor crises, including exploring the potential of AI. The White Paper announced the UK’s forthcoming Resilience and Adaptation Fund, equivalent (and additional) to 15% of our humanitarian budget, that will act alongside our humanitarian support to ensure better anticipatory action and support ahead of crises for populations in need.

Through the UK’s Humanitarian Innovation Platform, researchers worked with Médecins Sans Frontières to develop a new approach to making water safe to drink for refugees. Waterborne disease is often the largest cause of illness and death in refugee camps, but standardised approaches to chlorination can fail to ensure that water is safe to drink. Large datasets and AI were used to give accurate chlorination instructions and gave 97.3% of households protection from waterborne diseases compared to 50% of households using standard methods. This UK financed, AI enabled approach, has benefited at least 465,000 people in Bangladesh, Central African Republic, Jordan, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania and Uganda. It is being scaled up globally for water safety monitoring and programming in humanitarian settings.

The Weather and Climate Information Services (WISER), delivered by the Met Office, aims to help millions of people across Africa and MENA region to be more resilient to natural disasters and climate change by 2030 by improving early warning systems. For example, the Multi-Hazard Early Warning Tanzania project enhances the capacity of the Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) to reduce the impacts of extreme weather on coastal regions of Tanzania. The project initially focussed on public weather service and sectors including marine, fishing, agriculture. The TMA and the Met Office worked closely with sector stakeholder partners as well as representatives from the Disaster Management Department to understand requirements and jointly develop relevant early warning products and services.

59. The UK builds resilience to climatic shocks and long-term climate changes that impact on livelihoods and sustain assistance in protracted conflicts through routine and shock-responsive social protection, reaching the poorest and most vulnerable people. Through our social protection programming we support measures such as cash transfers that in crisis situations can snap into action, and flexibly enable poorer households to buy more food and increase their production of food by being able to invest in agricultural inputs and livestock.

60. The UK works with governments and other partners (like WFP) to strengthen social protection as a way of anticipating and preventing food security crises and building resilience to future shocks. For example:

• through our Better Assistance in Crises (BASIC) programme we are strengthening the evidence and providing technical assistance to support national governments, multilateral agencies, and donors, build and maintain social protection systems targeting crisis-affected populations.
• FCDO and the World Bank are driving forward a partnership to better link humanitarian assistance and social protection to address rising food insecurity initially in five countries, including Somalia and South Sudan.
• the Gender-Responsive Social Protection programme is working to enhance the outcomes for women and girls from social protection programmes and policies, through high quality research and technical assistance.  

In Ethiopia, the UK is supporting the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) which provides predictable and timely support of cash or food transfers, to eight million chronically food-insecure people. The programme has lifted more than one million people out of poverty, made recipient households 40% more food secure and reduced hunger. It has improved girls’ ability to stay in school and reduced financial pressures to marry at a young age. PSNP has meant people no longer have to rely on unpredictable humanitarian assistance that often came too late to prevent the sale of assets and has reduced both the impact of frequent droughts and the time it takes to recover from them. Through its approach, the UK is helping the Government of Ethiopia to build strong systems to deliver support to households and ultimately to self-fund the safety net for its citizens.

61. The UK champions disaster risk financing, shaping the system so that it responds better and earlier to food crises. Disaster risk financing mechanisms such as insurance enable governments and humanitarian agencies to insure themselves against major climate risks, improving their response to food crises. Drought, for example, is a key driver of food insecurity, directly impacting food production – particularly for rain-fed subsistence agriculture – and any climate-related disasters can exacerbate existing humanitarian need and spark food security crises. Disaster Risk Finance mechanisms such as insurance that pay out when pre-agreed conditions (e.g. a quantified lack of rainfall) are met is a way to direct timely and targeted funding where it is most needed and as such has strong established links with food security.

62. In Senegal, for example, Africa’s risk pool ARC (African Risk Capacity) paid out $10.6 million to the Start Network when rains failed in 2019, enabling it to work through partners to provide enriched flour and cash transfers to more than 335,000 people across seven regions, helping them to protect livestock and avoid negative coping strategies such as skipping meals or pulling children out of school. A parallel payment of $12.5 million to the Government of Senegal effectively doubled the impact of this support, with the Senegalese government focussing on regions not covered by Start programming.

63. At COP28, the UK announced a further £14.5m in disaster risk funding support, including £7.4m to enable Somalia to secure multi-year sovereign drought insurance protection through ARC. That will cover against the risk of both the country’s long and short rainy seasons failing for the next three years, releasing rapid and targeted funding to vulnerable communities in the event of a drought.

64. The White Paper includes an ambitious set of ‘We Wills’ demonstrating our commitment to improving crisis preparedness and response. They include: (1) make greater use of pre-arranged finance, such as insurance and other support for early and anticipatory action; (2) implement and scale the new Global Shield against climate risks; (3) champion increased access to climate finance for premiums and capital for the regional risk pools; (4) provide countries with independent advice to identify the main risks they are facing and access the right tools and finance to respond and; (5) partner with the City of London insurance market to develop and underwrite pre-arranged deals for finance to manage disaster risks.

Conflict as a driver of hunger

65. Conflict and the use of food as a weapon of war is increasingly a key driver of food insecurity in the 21st century, as combatants deny access for aid agencies, disrupt markets, and target (intentionally or otherwise) civilian food infrastructure. Conflict is a key driver of food insecurity in Burkina Faso, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere. The range of challenges requires comprehensive responses, drawing on all the levers available to the international community, and different ways of working that capitalise on the strengths of different sectors.

66. Political consensus around upholding the norms of conflict and IHL is needed. Improved understanding of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and how it can support food security, better reporting to the UN Security Council, and improving the compliance of armed actors with IHL is necessary. The UK has been developing A Practitioner’s Legal Handbook on Conflict, Hunger and International Humanitarian Law to help avoid and address food insecurity in armed conflicts; this will be published in 2024.

Addressing global malnutrition

67. In 2020 the UK and UNICEF commenced on a five-year £30m partnership to drive forward progress on child wasting. A £30.7m extension to 2030 has recently been approved. The partnership aims to improve the impact of investment to prevent and treat wasting through more sustainable financing, stronger supply chains, and more effective government led action. Key results to date include the launch of the Nutrition Match Fund and the inauguration of the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF).

68. The UK is working in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and UNICEF on the Child Nutrition Fund, a new financing mechanism designed to accelerate the scale-up of sustainable policies, programmes and supplies to end child wasting, leading an innovative and affordable way to tackle child wasting and build resilience to famine in some of the most vulnerable countries in the world. The £30.7m extension above includes an additional £16 million for the Child Nutrition Fund.

69. The UK also supports other multi-sectoral interventions to help improve nutrition including: the WHO-led Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition; the Nutrition Action for Systemic Change Programme (£9.7m); the Sustainable Agriculture/Food Systems Reform Programme (£65m); and the Bangladesh Suchana Programme that supports more sustained consumption gains, food security and income; all are driving progress on reforming food and health systems and mobilising global public financing for nutrition.

In Somalia, FCDO funds a Health and Nutrition Programme. It is a 6-year investment to provide an essential package of health services which include nutrition specific interventions. During the last year, the programme supported treatment of 18,931 severely malnourished children under five years of age.  In addition, 98,113 children and 150,347 pregnant and breastfeeding mothers were reached with a package of nutrition support including vitamin supplementation and counselling on maternal and child health nutrition. 

In Nigeria, FCDO funded the novel Child Development Grant Programme - a 6-year investment to provide cash transfers to mothers during pregnancy and until their child reached 2 years of age, in addition to education and counselling on maternal and child health and nutrition. The programme provided transfers for up to 100,000 pregnant women and mothers for a period of approximately 33 months, targeting the first 1,000 days of a child’s life.  Among other impacts, the programme led to a reduction in child stunting, positive impacts knowledge about healthy infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices, and positive impacts on household food security.

Building a climate resilient and sustainable food system

70. The UK supports sustainable agriculture transformations in developing countries, backing local and regional initiatives and plans, leveraging public and private finance. Over 15 UK-funded programmes in Africa and Asia aim to improve income and productivity of smallholder farmers through better access to markets, finance, and sustainable practices. For example:

• Our global commercial agriculture programme, CASA, supported nearly 60,000 smallholder farmers in 2022 to 2023 to improve their access to markets, incomes, and climate resilience. UK work through AgDevCo, an agribusiness impact investor dedicated to Africa, has mobilised $90 million from Development Finance Institutions. The multibillion, multi-donor platform Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), which the UK was instrumental in setting up, has been working for over 10 years now to accelerate progress to Zero Hunger through public and private sector finance for the poorest countries, we leverage over $6 for every $1 of UK taxpayers’ money spent.

• Through the UK’s Africa food trade and resilience programme, we are working through AGRA with African companies that source, process, and trade food in the region, to maximize investment, coordination, climate resilience and benefits to smallholder farmers; and improving the transparency and predictability of Government policies to unlock regional food trade. At COP28, the FCDO announced £9m investment into the Emerging Market Climate Action Fund which provides catalytic early-stage equity financing to greenfield climate mitigation and adaptation projects as well as companies with a green business model. EMCAF is investing, for example, in infrastructure to support cold storage chains for crops in east Africa and reduce wastage exacerbated by the changing climate.

71. The UK also supports the private sector to bring innovative agri-tech to markets and farmers’ fields. Our partnership with Shell Foundation has mobilised over £100 million in follow-on funding from the private sector into innovative technologies and businesses (including solar irrigation, solar dryers, biogas digesters, and insurance products), directly impacting over 300,000 small holder farmers.  This partnership also provided support to a recent Earthshot prize winner, S4S Technologies, that uses solar driers to uplift the incomes of women smallholder farmers.

72. With the World Bank, the UK co-convenes the global Policy Dialogue for Sustainable Agriculture to build momentum on policy reforms to shift public and private investment away from harmful agriculture practices to sustainable ones. The Dialogue provides a forum to share learning, facilitate partnerships and build global ambition on reforms. In complement, the Just Rural Transition (JRT) Support Programme is helping developing countries undertake inclusive and equitable agricultural reforms.

73. The Breakthrough Agenda was launched at COP26 as a political commitment to make clean technologies affordable and accessible for all by 2030. The Agriculture Breakthrough, led by UK and Egypt, brings together 17 countries committed to the goal of “making climate-resilient, sustainable agriculture the most widely adopted option for farmers everywhere” by 2030. The Agriculture Breakthrough Priority Actions were launched at COP28 at the World Leaders Summit and forms part of the political response to the Global Stocktake.

74. As outlined in our Government response to[40] the ICAI review of ‘UK aid to agriculture in a time of climate change’[41] we are integrating climate analysis and nature into all agricultural and food security programmes and investments, ensuring these explicitly address climate risks and maximize opportunities to deliver climate and nature benefits. The UK will not knowingly support maladaptation, even where this generates short term financial benefits. This is embedded in our Programme Operating Framework[42] (‘PrOF Rule 5’) and in PrOF guidance, including on climate and environment risk assurance. We are also developing new sector specific guidance to integrate International Climate Finance (ICF) into our food and agriculture programming.

Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP): FCDO funding (until 2020) to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) helped establish the pioneering Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP). 6.5 million poor smallholder farmers are now more resilient to climate change as a result. Established in 2012, ASAP became one of the world’s largest multi-donor global programmes dedicated to enabling the most vulnerable communities in some of the poorest countries to adapt and build their resilience to climate change. Only a small share of global climate finance flows is focused on the adaptation needs of small-scale producers. ASAP has paved the way to reverse this trend, and the UK is recognized internationally for its leadership in driving this change.

The Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA): programme is a £31.6m bilateral programme supporting small and medium-sized (SME) agribusinesses with smallholder supply chains to grow and attract investment. CASA aims to increase smallholder farmer incomes and climate resilience and strengthen food production and food security in priority countries. To date, CASA has supported 230,000 smallholder farmers in four countries and leveraged nearly £4.5m additional private and public sector investment into inclusive business models and value chains. 

Harnessing science and technology for sustainable food security

75. The UK is a long-standing and significant global funder of agriculture research and innovation which has contributed to the food security of millions of people, for instance by increasing the resilience of crops to drought and disease, developing livestock vaccines, and strengthening the evidence base on what works to transform the food system for people, planet and prosperity.

76. The UK is a major funder of CGIAR, the world’s leading agricultural science organisation: CGIAR wheat varieties are sown by more than 44 million families, producing more than 200 million tonnes of wheat, contributing to food security for more than 1.85bn people. Our support to CGIAR directly benefits UK food security, for example by improving wheat yields in UK. UK support to HarvestPlus and the International Potato Centre has delivered 80 new varieties of climate-resilient, nutritious crops across 19 countries, reaching nearly 100 million additional individuals with biofortified foods in 2023.  

77. The FCDO’s new phase of support to the CGIAR includes the UK-based UK-CGIAR Science Collaboration Centre, which will forge partnerships between UK science institutions and emerging science powers, accelerate the translation leading UK science into usable and practical solutions, and build partnerships for UK science internationally with new investments from the CGIAR (global food security research group) and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

78. The FCDO is also launching a new innovation-focused programming, including the Scaling Agriculture Investment in Digital, AI and Innovation (SAIDAI) programme. It will help to catalyse investment at scale in agriculture innovations which expand productivity, uplift incomes and raise climate resilience, including through bringing in institutional investors like BII. It will also drive stronger, more sustainable and better integrated agri-food systems in developing countries that deliver safe and nutritious food, including through improved yields, reduced post-harvest loss, and more efficient and resilient supply chains. This will include increasing the deployment and adoption of technologies - including digital and AI - that can have the greatest impact on livelihoods and resilience.

79. FCDO has also recently announced new support to increase food system resilience by reducing animal and plant pest and disease threats through the Animal and Plant Health Innovation and Evidence Delivery (APHID) Platform (£29m) including with CABI. This includes previously announced funding for the Centre for Veterinary Vaccine Innovation and Manufacturing (CVIM).

80. The Supporting Pastoralism and Agriculture in Recurrent and Protracted Crises Programme (SPARC) is working with livestock-based communities in drylands and fragile contexts to generate evidence on how to effectively build long-term resilience in the face of recurring shocks and stressors.

Leveraging the international finance system

81. International Financial Institutions (IFIs) are a major source of finance for the response to the global food security crisis and have committed more than $60bn. This is to address both immediate needs, through cash transfers and social protection, and longer-term resilience by strengthening agrifood systems. This includes $49bn from the World Bank, which has far exceeded its original funding target of $30bn by mid-2023. This is expected to benefit 335 million people. The Asian Development Bank and the African Development Bank have also announced ambitious funding packages of $14bn and $10bn respectively.

82. As a shareholder in seven Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), and a major contributor to the concessional arms of MDBs, the UK is critical to making multilateral support available for the most vulnerable countries. The UK is the 3rd largest contributor to IDA, largest contributor to the African Development Fund and 4th largest to the Asian Development Fund. These institutions provide concessional or grant-based support that is helping some of the most vulnerable countries respond to the crisis.

83. In 2022, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) launched a Food Shock Window providing access to emergency financing for countries facing balance of payment issues due related to the food crisis. This was supported by the UK at the IMF Board, including its extension by 6 months.

84. Addressing the drivers of food insecurity will require unlocking more MDB finance. The UK has high ambition for this and is pushing MDBs to stretch their balance sheets by implementing the recommendations of the G20 Review of MDB Capital Adequacy Frameworks - initial CAF reforms could enable $300-400bn of additional MDB financing over the next 10 years.

85. The UK is playing a leading role in this endeavour by offering guarantees – these have substantially increased the amount of MDB finance available to address food insecurity. For example, our Room to Run guarantee is unlocking $2bn climate finance from the African Development Bank, enabling it to finance additional projects – including on agrifood systems. Projects made possible by the UK Room to Run guarantee include an $87m project to strengthen the resilience of Tunisia's cereal sector, and a €80m project to improve wastewater usage in Egypt which is expected to increase arable lands by 70,000 acres. In total, the UK has announced guarantees that will unlock over $6bn of additional MDB finance. Guarantees enable the MDBs to increase lending beyond what their credit policies would ordinarily allow.

86. Finance is important but so is delivery. The UK uses its voice on the Board of MDBs and working in coalition with partners to improve the quality of MDBs’ response to sustainably address the mounting risks of overlapping nutrition, food security, and health crises. For example, as co-chair of the Action Review Panel on Child Wasting the UK has advocated for a greater focus on nutrition at the World Bank to prevent and treat child wasting before it becomes a humanitarian emergency. UK representatives on the Boards of the IFIs use the UK’s global network of embassies and policy experts to shape the strategic direction of MDBs. We will continue to lead advocacy efforts, including during the World Bank’s new IDA cycle replenishment launching through 2024.

87. The way the international system responds to food security crises must be improved, shifting away from responding after crises have hit and towards anticipating and preventing crises. The UK is working with the World Bank to streamline coordination mechanism with other development actors and the humanitarian agencies. For example, at country level, we are working with the Word Bank and UN agencies to develop joint coordination plans, the Food Security Crisis Preparedness Plans, which will help establish a new architecture to highlight emerging risks in countries and facilitate a coordinated and early response.

88. In parallel, the UK works in partnership with the World Bank to address climate and nature drivers of food insecurity. The global Agriculture Policy Dialogue co-convened by UK and the World Bank is a platform for peer learning and building partnerships and ambition on policy reform, including subsidy reform, to deliver sustainable agriculture. We are also working with the World Bank’s on its new Food and Nutrition Global Challenge Programme to help make its the response to food insecurity more targeted and impactful.

89. The thirteenth replenishment of the International Fund for Agricultural Development IFAD 13 (2025-2027) is underway. IFAD impact assessments show that, for example: 77 million rural people improved their incomes because of IFAD projects between 2019 and 2021; more than 62 million people increased their production; more than 64 million improved their market access; and around 38 million strengthened their resilience.

British International Investments (BII)

90. BII, as the UK’s Development Finance Institution, invests in businesses in Africa and South Asia to support productive, sustainable, and inclusive growth, alongside a phased expansion into the Indo-Pacific and the Caribbean regions with a climate focus.

91. BII supports the growth of private sector businesses across the food and agriculture sector. Leveraging its decades of experience investing in developing countries, BII has developed a coordinated and integrated approach to food security which spans the food system. This approach ensures that relevant BII investments directly contribute to food security, with BII placing particular focus on:

-                      Agricultural inputs (especially fertilisers, crop protection and seeds) to expand agri-input production and access, increase the efficient use of agri-inputs, and promote cleaner agri-inputs.

-                      Food access to increase accessibility of nutritious food, reduce price for low-income consumers, and strengthen supply chains and infrastructure.

-                      Climate-smart agriculture to sustainably increase smallholder productivity, increase the climate-resilience of food systems, and shift to climate-positive practices.

92. This approach ensures that BII supports delivery of SDG2 and addresses the broader issues of food security, affordability, sustainability, and livelihoods. in 2022, alone BII invested £116.4m in support of SDG2. For example, BII has recently invested into AgDevCo[43], expanding on the initial work of FCDO, to increase resilience and production of food across Africa. 

Targeting and Reaching the Most Vulnerable

93. We are committed to targeting our ODA to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, including women and girls and other vulnerable groups.

94. As outlined above, the FCDO’s new International Women and Girls Strategy[44] highlights the UK’s commitment to improving women’s empowerment and tackling the vulnerabilities and shocks facing women, including food security and malnutrition. We have set a commitment to focus 80% of FCDO bilateral aid on gender equality by 2030, using the OECD gender marker.  In 2021 59% of programmes were marked as having a focus on gender equality.

95. Equity is part of FCDO's value for money framework and we consider how fairly the benefits are distributed in all our programmes. The FCDO is signed up to and provides a leading role as a co-facilitator of the Inclusive Data Charter. FCDO is committed to collecting data disaggregated by gender, disability, age and geography, where possible – recognising there are improvements to be made here. The collection of disaggregated data will help us understand the extent to which our aid reaches the most vulnerable and marginalised people.

96. FCDO's humanitarian allocation model uses objective data to help guide the geographical distribution of UK bilateral humanitarian assistance. It uses data on the severity and scale of current humanitarian crises, the risk of future crisis occurring, and where FCDO has a comparative advantage. This has helped ensure the UK’s resources are being targeted where they will be most effective.

97. We have been driving support and use of the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC)[45] in partnership with FAO, the global gold standard on food security monitoring and analysis to direct funding to where it needed most and inform long-term approaches on food security. For example, under the G7 UK Presidency in 2021, we undertook a landscape analysis[46] of food security and agriculture monitoring systems and then secured consensus on G7 Principles for Enhanced Food Security Monitoring and Analysis[47] which have since been cited widely as the new G7 consensus on what we see as food security and lack thereof. Germany's G7 Presidency in 2022 made Global Alliance for Food Security (GAFS) foundational on IPC analysis. Germany funds the Bank for GAFS Coordination but together we insisted that IPC data and analysis underpin their dashboard[48]. We are closely monitoring the work of the Global Network Against Food Crises, an alliance of humanitarian and development actors (including FAO, WFP, the World Bank) united by the commitment to tackle the root causes of food crises and promote sustainable solutions through shared analysis and knowledge, strengthened coordination in evidence-based responses and collective efforts across the Humanitarian, development and Peace nexus.

98. Smallholder farmers are a key focus of our food and agriculture programming. The FCDO’s commercial agriculture portfolio pursues the dual objective set out in the Agriculture Conceptual Framework of promoting food security while also helping smallholders to benefit from sustainably increased incomes.  We have supported initiatives designed to assist smallholder farmers in the most climate vulnerable countries to adopt sustainable and resilient agricultural practices and to secure access to local markets.

The Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness programme (CASA) works with producer organisations and agri-businesses in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia to increase sourcing of agri-food products from smallholder farmers and to help farmers adopt climate-smart and productivity-enhancing agriculture technologies.  

The Investments in Forests and Sustainable Land Use Phase 2 is a programme targeting small holder farmers. The focus on smallholders will allow us to provide greater support to the millions of small farmers who face threats to their livelihoods from climate change and who also play a major role in driving deforestation.

Other Government Departments’ work

Governance

99. Since the establishment of FCDO, new development governance structures have been introduced across government (x-HMG) to provide oversight and accountability for the whole of government contribution to international development.

100. On food security, at a working level, officials from FCDO, Defra, HMT, Cabinet Office and DBT meet weekly to coordinate and discuss policy related to global food security and multilateral engagement. On an ad hoc basis, officials from other government departments are brought into consultation where relevant. Deputy Directors and Directors meet to provide strategic oversight as appropriate – with plans to regularise this level coordination.

101. The UK coordinates ODA and non-ODA research on food system transformation across HMG through the Gilbert Initiative, a cross-government initiative that aims to take a new, coordinated approach to food system transformation and address the challenges facing the global food system (primarily ODA R&D but leverages non-ODA investments and capability).

Department for Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

102. Defra supports HMG action on global food security and SDG2 through ODA funded programmes, some non-ODA funded activity, and roles leading UK engagement with international agricultural fora.  Defra also supports the development of UK food trade policy.

ODA funded programmes

103. Defra supports several ODA-funded programmes (mostly through International Climate Finance) that protect and restore biodiversity and promote sustainable agriculture and seafood.  It is also supporting developing countries to achieve more efficient and sustainable cooling, and hence food chains with lower food waste, and to strengthen their animal health systems.

104. Sustainable Agriculture Programmes Funded Through International Climate Finance. Defra supports a range of sustainable agriculture programmes that aim to reduce the rate of deforestation and land degradation whilst improving the sustainability and resilience of food systems.

•                      The Low Carbon Agriculture Programme in Brazil: Rural Sustentavel – Phase 2 supports small- and medium- scale farms in Brazil to scale up the implementation of low-carbon agriculture. The programme aims to see a 15% increase in incomes for participating farmers. A key indicator for the project is the number of farmer organisations strengthened, through either an increase in sales price, profit margin or number of products sold through a farmer’s co-operative organisation.

•                      The Ecobusiness Fund is a public-private partnership investment fund. It promotes lending practices that contribute to biodiversity conservation, sustainable use of natural resources, mitigation and adaption, and is aligned with several SDGs including SDG2. To date it has supported the livelihoods of 660,000 people through environmentally sustainable agricultural businesses and supported the sustainable land management of 971,000 hectares of farmland, including 471,000 hectares benefitting from soil conservation measures. As such, the programme aims to avoid or reverse the degradation of land that drives poor rural populations further into poverty.

•                      The Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Fund is a public-private partnership impact investment fund that invests in profit-generating sustainable land management and restoration projects globally. The fund invests in enterprises involved in agroforestry and sustainable forestry on degraded land, as well as regenerative and sustainable agriculture. As above, funded activities aim to avoid or reverse the degradation of land that drives poor rural populations further into poverty. 

105. Blue Planet Fund: Launched in 2021, the £500 million Blue Planet Fund is jointly managed by Defra and FCDO and supports developing countries to protect the marine environment. Through a portfolio of bilateral and multilateral programmes, the Blue Planet Fund works across the 4 integrated themes: biodiversity, climate change, marine pollution and sustainable seafood, to support the approximately 3 billion people who rely on the ocean for their food security and livelihoods.  Relevant programmes include:

• The Ocean Country Partnership Programme, among other objectives, supports partner governments to implement ‘One Health’ Aquaculture principles, collaborative, multi-sectoral, and trans-disciplinary approaches to achieving beneficial health and well-being outcomes for people, non-human organisms and their shared environment.  This supports sustainable aquatic food production and helps to meet trade aspirations. Through the Blue Food Partnership, the programme is supporting the piloting of a Global Sustainable Aquaculture Roadmap in Ghana to empower aquaculture companies and other stakeholders in the implementation of more responsible solutions in their value chains.

• The Blue Forest Initiative supports local communities in fisheries management, aquaculture and marine habitat protection and restoration, with particular focus on mangroves. Blue Forests is working to support the livelihoods of 94,000 people and supports food security.

106. Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain Solutions (SCCCS) ODA project including the Africa Centre of Excellence (ACES) in Rwanda. Defra is supporting action to reduce food losses internationally through the £21 million Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain Solutions programme.  This programme supports sustainable cooling across all aspects of the cold chain in countries predominantly across Africa and Asia. Globally, 526 million tonnes (12% of total food production) are lost due to lack of cold chain, enough to feed ~1 billion people. In Rwanda, as an example, food loss equates to 21% of its total land use, 16% of GHG emissions, and 12% loss to its annual Gross Domestic Product.

107. Grain from Ukraine initiative via World Food Programme (WFP): The UK has provided £8m (from Defra ODA budget) to the World Food Programme via President Zelenskyy’s ‘Grain from Ukraine’ initiative. The UK’s contributions have ensured the delivery of Ukrainian grain to some of the world’s most food insecure communities and supported the resilience of the Ukrainian grain sector during the Russian invasion, which is vital for global food supply.

108. The Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate (GCBC). The GCBC finances R&D projects that tackle the intersection of climate change and biodiversity loss, and their impact on livelihoods, including aspects related to food supply. Since 2022, the GCBC has funded 14 projects, with several supporting SDG2, such as OneFood, TerraViva, Innovative Seaweed and Tropical Important Plant Areas (TIPAs). The latest grant competition, which closed in July 2023, will invite 14 projects to conduct research on the role of biodiversity in sustainable agriculture and natural resources management for climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods. Examples of new projects supporting SDG2 as well as the Gilbert Initiative include The Flourishing Landscapes Programme, HABITAT - Harnessing Pasture Biodiversity and Productivity, Multifunctional Agroforestry for Ethiopia, and the Andean Crop Diversity for Climate Change project.

109. Biodiversity Challenge Funds

• The Darwin Initiative competitively awards grants for biodiversity conservation and multidimensional poverty reduction including a small number focussed food security, for example:
• Madagascar yam conservation for livelihoods - Conserving Madagascar’s edible wild yams through cultivation to enhance livelihoods and food security.
• Coffee natural capital for environmental and livelihood sustainability in Uganda - Assessment and utilization of Uganda’s wild coffee species for livelihood improvement, coffee sector sustainability, and environmental protection.
• Defra’s Darwin Plus programme funds biodiversity and conservation projects in the UK Overseas Territories (part ODA, part non-ODA) Live projects are supporting the management of pathogens threatening biodiversity and food security in St Helena (DPLUS157) and informing decisions on whether to mainstream climate change adaptation into sustainable fisheries (DPLUS148).

110. Work with Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew was created under the National Heritage Act 1983 and is a Non-Departmental Public Body with Exempt Charity status. Kew carries out its statutory functions with technical expertise, impartiality, and transparency, at arm’s length from its sponsor, Defra. Kew’s scientists undertake research in partnership with others in over 100 countries, including on species conservation, crop diversification, useful traits in wild species, developing resilient food crops, increasing yields, and the role of indigenous and traditional food systems. 

111. Defra contribution towards the Intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO)’s Global Agricultural Monitoring (GEOGLAM) programme. Defra are contributing £375k between FY 22/23 and 24/25. GEOGLAM uses Earth Observation to provide early warning for timely and actionable information in response to emerging food security crises. Proactive responses based on GEOGLAM information can save lives, reduce human suffering and the cost of reactive emergency response. For example, since 2022 GEOGLAM has worked with NASA Harvest, building upon the AMIS Crop Monitor to support the Ministry of Agriculture and Food in Ukraine with harmonised data products on grain exports (Ukrainian grain accounts for 30% of global exports). This work is helping to tackle the disruptive effects on global supply chains arising from Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression, particularly for regions that tend towards food insecurity including North and East Africa.  

Non-ODA funded projects

112. Defra funding to the Agriculture Market Information System (AMIS). Defra manages the UK's financial contribution to AMIS (non-ODA) and participates in the AMIS information group, sharing timely and transparent data to facilitate their work.  AMIS is an international organisation which enhances food market transparency and supports coordinated policy responses for food security and nutrition through detailed monitoring of prices and availability of selected crops.  This helps prevent countries from overreacting and implementing measures such as export restrictions which have a counterproductive impact on global food security.  To facilitate the expansion of AMIS' remit to cover fertilisers we also committed to providing additional financial resources to AMIS and will be increasing our contributions to £120k per year for the next 3 years from 2023/24.

Department of Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT)

113. DSIT has directly supported and continues to support the delivery of HMG’s SDG2 ambitions through three funding vehicles. Previously via the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and the Newton Fund – both closing by the end of FY24/25 – and now via the International Science Partnership Fund (ISPF) ODA launched in November 2023.

114. Relevant DSIT programmes focus on tackling hunger through investing in R&I to improve food security, typically this takes a long-term approach given the lead times of R&I programmes and the nature of the solutions being researched and developed.
      
115. In November 2023 we announced the International Science Partnership Fund (ISPF) ODA commitment. The fund will invest £337 million over the next 2 years in collaborations to tackle the existential challenges facing the world. This fund brings together all of our international R&I funding under one roof, building on the Newton Fund, the Global Challenges Research Fund, and the Fund for International Collaboration. Of this £337m, the UK government has committed £218 million to partnerships with low and middle-income countries to support sustainable development – including food security.

116. ISPF has four themes: Resilient Planet, Transformative Technologies, Healthy People, Animals & Plants, and Tomorrow’s Talent - these are themes where DSIT and its UK and international partners can build on science excellence and achieve tangible impact through interdisciplinary research and innovation. All four themes directly and indirectly impact the government's ability to achieve SDG2.

117. Resilient Planet is focused on leading the green industrial revolution to protect the planet, focusing on extreme weather and climate, agritech and environmental resilience. Transformative Technologies delivers AI developments which among many other topics could help optimise food production. The emphasis on AI is also reflected in the recently launched International Development White paper which calls for efforts to prevent, prepare for and (re)build resilience to food insecurity. Prevention of food insecurity would be increased by strengthening evidence, data gathering and analysis on food security and nutrition, and promoting the use of AI to increase scale, speed, frequency and confidence level of analysis.

118. ISPF activity is aiming to improve food production throughout the world for example in Southeast Asia, DSIT is scoping a £12 million programme to enhance the sustainability and resilience of aquaculture systems - one of the fastest-growing sectors of the food industry. Elsewhere, the UK Centre for Veterinary Innovation and Manufacturing is working with international partners on harnessing the best of UK science expertise to bridge gaps in livestock vaccine development. Scientists at Cambridge University are leading work to increase crop yields without the need for chemical fertilisers. Meanwhile, Agri-EPI and Innovate UK's "International Smart Farm initiative" is forging links between smaller British and Latin American agri-tech businesses delivering the cutting edge of smart farm technology.

119. ISPF is designed to deliver collaborative partnerships with UK partner organisations and international partners. Focused on bilateral partnerships the fund works with international partners to deliver impact through joint programmes under the four priority themes. Where appropriate this also includes encouraging international partners to co-fund their activity in these programmes to support greater activity in these areas.

120. DSIT (and before DSIT then BEIS) has also delivered the Newton Fund and GCRF since 2014 and 2016 respectively that established strong partnerships with international partner countries and organisations. The Newton Fund was a bilateral fund aiming to address development challenges through science, research and innovation. It functioned as a series of bilateral partnership funds with select countries, where UK-based Delivery Partners[49] work directly with their overseas counterparts. Partnerships with Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam – with a focus on tackling issues in Environmental Technologies, Climate Change, Energy, Water, Sustainable Cities and Urbanisation, Biodiversity and Environment; Sustainable Food Systems, Disaster and Risk Management and Environmental Resilience.

121. Alongside the Newton Fund, DSIT delivered the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) GCRF focused on creating new knowledge and driving innovation that helps to ensure that everyone across the globe has access to secure and resilient food systems supported by sustainable marine resources and agriculture, sustainable health and well-being, inclusive and equitable quality education, clean air, water and sanitation, affordable, reliable and sustainable energy. For example, GCRF investment has supported researchers from Queens University Belfast examining how the environmental and economic challenges of rice farming in Thailand could be alleviated. As nearly half of Thai farming households have annual incomes below the national poverty line, this new knowledge has helped address SDG2.[50]

122. Another example is GCRF investment in research into Orphan crops, which are typically grown in Africa, Asia, and South America and are eaten as part of local diets. While they are often of great importance to regional food security, they are less prominent in global trade. Due to this limited global reach, there is less research into their breeding technology, resulting in fewer knowledge-based approaches to develop yield stability, nutritional quality, commercial value, or adaptation to climate change. Orphan crops planted by farmers can be less resilient to drought, flooding, or extreme temperatures; they are lower in productivity; and can be more vulnerable to pests and disease. A partnership between scientists from the University of Dundee, Scotland, the University of Malaya, Malaysia, the African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC), and the Rajiv Gandhi Biotechnology Centre (RGBC), India, aims to improve the way orphan crop genomes are analysed and decoded so that these species can be better understood and managed.[51]

123. DSIT works with OGDs, to support HMG’s commitment to SGD2 through the cross HMG Gilbert Initiative. HMG are working together on critical technology and innovation investments to support the transformation to climate-resilient agriculture and food systems. The initiative coordinates investments in evidence generation, technology development and delivery to support a food system that by 2030 feeds nine billion people with nutritious, safe foods; uses environmental resources sustainably; enhances resilience and adaptation to climate change; and generates inclusive growth and jobs. It targets and aligns ODA investments in research from DSIT with OGDs to support the development and deployment of agriculture technologies, research and evidence to aid developing countries achieve these goals.

124. DSIT also joins with cross-HMG colleagues in their engagement with groups such as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research where thanks to research investment from the UK and others, the CGIAR has delivered 80 new varieties of climate-resilient, nutritious crops across 19 countries.

125. DSIT remains committed to building on partnerships developed through our work with international partners through Newton and GCRF and continuing with ISPF to support HMG’s SDG2 commitment.

Monitoring and Evaluation

126. The UK is committed to measuring the impact of our work and learning and sharing the lessons. We support and champion a culture of learning to ensure we target our support against greatest need, and greatest impact. The UK is a champion for the Power of Data – supporting development of national and international systems to further the availability and use of data on and for the SDGs, advocating for open, inclusive fit-for-purpose data to be available on an equitable basis to inform, empower and hold ourselves and others to account for delivering the 2030 agenda

Evaluation

127. The FCDO published its first Evaluation Strategy in 2022 which set the ambition for evaluation over 3 years (to 2025) across sectors. In support of this, the FCDO have developed an Evaluation Quality Assurance and Learning Service (EQUALS2) programme which offers a free to use service for FCDO and ODA-spending Partners Across Government for independent quality assurance of all Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) products. Good practice on MEL activities is actively shared through fora such as the Cross-Government Evaluation Group (CGEG), ODA Research and Innovation Cross Whitehall evaluation and evidence sharing group and the Cabinet Office’s Evaluation Task Force.

Results

128. FCDO is considering its approach to results at the organisational level, exploring the scope, ambition, and technical aspects as well as other levers required to embed accountability and use, building on lessons learned. This has included a stocktake of development results, consultation, and establishment of working groups to consider options.

129. High priority sectoral portfolios, including International Climate Finance, Education and Humanitarian and Social Protection, have published results in 2023. FCDO do not have an overarching results framework for SDG2. Results are monitored at programme level through programme logframes and published in annual reviews and programme completion reports. We are considering ways to improve on this.

130. As part of the food security portfolio, FCDO undertakes a regular portfolio review of FCDO agriculture programmes, commissioned through our CASA programme, including deep dives on specific themes, such as climate sensitivity/benefits, nutrition, women’s economic empowerment, as set out above in relation to CASA products). These reviews provide substantive feedback on results, and identifies opportunities to do more, learn and/or replicate/scale. The most recent review[52], reviewed the performance of 32 programmes (20 focused solely on Africa) against 20 general indicators (related to overall reach, productivity, improved income, enterprises, and employment) and thematic indicators related to climate change, women’s economic empowerment (WEE) and nutrition.

131. Overall, these programmes are reaching over 24.5m smallholder farmers (83% of the target total, 40% women), working with almost 17,500 Small and Medium Sized Enterprises and stimulating half the target amount of investment of £1bn.  The review has highlighted that the lack of standard reporting metrics and approaches makes it difficult to aggregate and compare results across programmes, this is now being addressed.

Next steps

132. Strategy Directorate with technical support from the Chief Statistician is overseeing a renewed drive to measure, harmonise and collect more outcomes data across FCDO. At a working level, thematic leads meet regularly with the aim to harmonise and coordinate results processes across FCDO.

133. FCDO statistics and development policy teams are exploring how to improve access to high-level and disaggregated data on food security programming internally. This may include a food security marker being developed for internal software.

134. A monitoring framework for the commitments set out in the White Paper on International Development is currently in development.

135. As described earlier, Global Food, Agriculture and Land (GFAL) department will be working to improve tracking of both food security spend and results delivered by FCDOs Food Security/SDG2 related portfolio.

Working multilaterally

136. The UK works through and with a range of international and national-level partners: the UN (FAO, WFP, IFAD, UNICEF, UNSG, WTO), civil society, private sector and with the G7 and G20. We have strong partnership with the Rome based UN agencies (RBAs - FAO, IFAD, WFP) dedicated to food and agriculture and the World Bank Group; working closely to help ensure a coordinated and coherent response. We are developing new partnerships and deepening existing partnerships, for instance with UAE for COP28, and with Brazil for their G20 Presidency focus on hunger. 

137. The UK and Brazil co-hosted the first ever global Hunger Summit in London in 2012 and the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit in 2013, supported the preparation for the 2017 and 2021 N4Gs and are in close liaison with French counterparts on the plans for the France N4G in late 2024/early 2025. The UK and Brazil are further strengthening cooperation on food security through a new trilateral partnership with African countries that will fund research, development and innovation in sustainable agriculture and facilitate the transfer of climate-smart agricultural practices and technologies.  

138. The UK also has strong partnerships with many bilateral and private donors in food and agriculture, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We have leading roles in donor circles, e.g. the Global Donor Platform on Agriculture and Rural Development, the CGIAR, and in regional groupings.

139. The UK has established partnerships with regional political and economic cooperation bodies such as ASEAN and the Africa Union and we will seek to collaborate more closely with their regional food and agriculture development initiatives. We will continue to work closely with these partners to promote better coordination and collaboration, based on a better understanding of their comparative strengths.

140. In Africa, the UK is a key supporter of AGRA (an African-led food system focused organisation), as well as regional organisations working on food systems such as COMESA (Comon Market for Eastern and Southern Africa), and ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States). We are working with AGRA, Regional Economic Communities and the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement Secretariat (AfCFTA) to help strengthen food trade in Africa, for example on new trade agreements and better data on food surpluses and shortages. 

141. The UK is also an active member of the donor group supporting the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) chaired by the African Union (AU). The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) (also referred to as the Malabo Commitments) is the continental framework for agriculture sector-led economic growth and development.  

142. The UK has established a strong partnership with Ukraine and firmly support the vital role their agriculture sector continues to play in ensuring global food security and the resilience of global grain markets. This includes engagement in multi-lateral fora such as the WTO and G7 in support of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and Ukraine’s Humanitarian Corridor, as well as calling out Putin’s weaponisation of global food supplies. We also support Ukraine’s agricultural exports bilaterally through:

• Contributing £8m to the World Food Programme via the Grain from Ukraine Initiative
• Developing a £2m Grain Verification Scheme to help with tackling Russian grain theft from the occupied regions of Ukraine.
• Establishing a comprehensive Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance operation in the Black Sea, which will help deter Russian attacks on cargo vessels.
• Supporting the development of an insurance facility for ships using Ukraine’s humanitarian corridor
• Being the first country to liberalise all tariffs on imports of Ukrainian goods.

The Rome-based agencies (RBAs)

143. The UK Permanent Representation to the UN Food and Agriculture Agencies in Rome represents UK interests across the three specialised UN bodies:

• The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO); the lead UN agency leading on food and agriculture and SDG2 on ending hunger. FAO plays an important role in delivering UK priorities, including climate change and biodiversity; nutrition; women’s economic empowerment; global health security, including pandemic preparedness and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR); trade and economic development; fisheries; data; anticipatory action, famine prevention, and humanitarian response.
• The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); the UN agency and International Finance Institution (IFI) that focuses on improving food security for the most vulnerable people in the poorest, rural areas.  IFAD’s focus is aligned with UK priorities, including global food security and nutrition; climate change; and women’s economic empowerment. IFAD is the only UN agency with a credit rating (AA+), which allows it to leverage additional finance for investment in rural development.
• The World Food Programme (WFP): the world’s largest humanitarian agency delivering life-saving relief in emergencies and providing food assistance to build stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters, and the impacts of climate change.

144. Each body has a different but complementary set of roles to play in addressing SDG2. The UK is an active and productive participant across all three and has championed better coordination and collaboration to ensure the RBAs reflect more than the sum of their parts.

145. The effects of wider geopolitical tensions are increasingly playing out in the RBAs, even amongst the more technical consensus-based sub-bodies, reflecting the increased politicisation and weaponisation of food. The UK steadfastly supports the RBAs leadership in helping to restore focus to the substance of their roles in the face of the impact of global food insecurity on vulnerable countries.

UNFCCC

146. The UK has played a key role to raise agriculture and food systems up the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) policy agenda with regard to non-mandated outcomes. As COP26 Presidency the UK led a Just Transition to Sustainable Agriculture campaign. Our COP26 legacy platforms have mobilised effort and ambition. These include the Agriculture Breakthrough (part of the Glasgow Breakthrough Agenda to make clean, green solutions the most attractive everywhere) and the global Agriculture Policy Dialogue, co-convened with the World Bank.

147. The UK has strongly supported the incoming UAE COP28 Presidency’s Food Systems Transformation campaign, intended to drive progress on low emission, climate resilient, environmentally sustainable agriculture and food systems that deliver food security, nutritious diets and economic benefit. The Presidency has invited UK Ministers to profile leadership on food systems transformation, sustainable agriculture and water resilience at COP28 Plenary, at the Leaders’ World Climate Action Summit and for Agriculture Food and Water Day.

148. The UK also endorsed the UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action (one of 159 countries). This reaffirms our commitment to pursue the following objectives: scaling up adaptation and resilience activities to reduce vulnerability of farmers, fisherfolk and food producers; promoting food security and nutrition by increasing efforts to support vulnerable people; supporting workers in agriculture and food systems including women and youth; strengthening the integrated management of water in agriculture and food systems; and maximising the climate and environmental benefits associated with agriculture.

149. At COP28, The Prime Minister announced a £1.6 billion package, which includes:

• up to £45 million in support over the next 5 years through the Just Rural Transition Support Programme, in partnership with the World Bank (‘FoodSystems 2030’ Trust Fund)
• up to £39.1 million for the Just Transitions for Water Security programme, launched on 1 December
• £10 million for the FAO-led Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) to support organisations that represent smallholder farmers, rural women’s groups, local communities and indigenous peoples’ groups. The UK’s £10 million funding to FFF is specifically for Africa
• £10m of our £40m Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate funding for research into how we can harness the power of nature and sustainable agriculture.

150. At COP28, Defra hosted a food system finance event titled, ‘Sustainable Food Systems Investment: Accelerating Public Private Partnerships’. The event built upon roundtable discussions at a Nature Action event in February 2023, where the UK recognised that if we are to meet climate and nature targets, we need to address the $350billion/year funding gap for sustainable food systems. The Met Office also held an event in the pavilion that explored the impact changing weather and climate extremes has on our food systems and food security. 

CBD

151. The UK played a leading role at COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in December 2022 to ensure that agreement could be reached on the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Biodiversity loss is a key driver of global food insecurity and climate change and the GBF sets a global commitment to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 through sustainable management of agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries. The UK will continue to support delivery of the GBF, including through commitments set out in the International Development White Paper and the government’s 2030 Strategic Framework for International Action on Climate and Nature.

WTO Engagement on Food Security

152. The UK actively engages on food security at the WTO including leading negotiations for the 2012 Ministerial Declaration on the Emergency Response to Food Insecurity and supporting the Decision to exempt consignments of foodstuffs purchased by the World Food Programme from export restrictions. Ahead of the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in 2024, the UK has been a leading voice on the importance of tackling export restrictions and prohibitions on foodstuffs, tabling a proposal in October 2023 setting out stronger disciplines and enhanced transparency on these types of measures. 

G7/20

153. In 2023, both the G7 and G20 under the leadership of Japan and India, reaffirmed commitments to enhance international cooperation and action to address global food insecurity and malnutrition. The UK continues to provide support to both bodies recognising the significant leadership roles they play in achieving SDG2, both politically, and through championing the economic conditions needed to guard against food insecurity, e.g. promoting open trade and incentivising private sector investment.

154. Japan negotiated through the Foreign Affairs Sous Sherpa track the ‘G7 Hiroshima Action Statement for Resilient Global Food Security’ with guest countries such as India and Brazil. India meanwhile facilitated agreement to the ‘G20 Deccan High-Level Principles on Food Security and Nutrition’ which coordinate and facilitate a united approach towards alleviating global hunger and malnutrition while promoting sustainable growth.

155. Incoming G7 and G20 Presidency’s, Italy and Brazil, have signalled intention to prioritise food security and the UK is in touch with counterparts to provide close support to ensure their success and complementarity to existing initiatives. We are supporting Brazil in their plans for a G20 Task Force that would seek to establish a Global Alliance on Hunger and Poverty.

156. The UK is among the most ambitious countries in G7 and G20 agriculture track negotiations, ensuring that the importance of long term food security is addressed in collective actions and communique language. For example, the UK shaped and supported the Indian Presidency in their efforts to agree the Deccan High-Level Principles on Food Security & Nutrition, which coordinate and facilitate a united approach towards alleviating global hunger and malnutrition while promoting sustainable growth.

Private Sector 

157. Our work with the private sector seeks to drive improved delivery through the food and ag private sector by influencing pressure points along the supply chain, to build awareness and buy-in, help deliver what good looks like, monitor and drive accountability. For example, this includes support for high-level investment principles and guidance (RAI, VGGT, OECD Multinational Guidelines review, FAO/OECD food & ag supply chains guidelines), granular how-to guidance and tools for businesses and investors (the Columbia Law School Columbia Centre for Sustainable Investment[55]’s responsible agriculture investment work[56], including ALIGN[57], Open Land Contracts[58], and their RAI-based guidance[59] for investors and their corporate legal counsels), pilot investments co-designed by business and community counterparties (e.g. the LEGEND Challenge Fund[60]).

158. Under the UK’s G7 Presidency in 2021,  in collaboration with the World Benchmarking Alliance’s Food and Agriculture Benchmark[61], we put together a new G7 Sustainable Supply Chains Initiative of food and ag supply chain operators[62] with a commitment to significantly enhance their climate and environment performance and be monitored publicly on a regular basis for these and other indicators, covering areas such as labour and human rights, nutrition, women, etc. The UK secured Member State agreement, signed up over 25 ‘early-riser’ food and supply chain operators headquartered in G7 countries, and launched the G7 SSCI in December 2021 at a high-level event hosted by FCDO Ministers.

Other mechanisms/platforms for engagement

159. The Global Donor Platform on Agriculture and Rural Development[63] (GDPRD): This platform convenes interested donors, and, on a case by case basis, relevant multilateral organisations, at senior working level for evidence sharing, policy dialogue and sometimes joint action, as for example in the case of the land donor working group (co-founded and repeatedly chaired by the FCDO). With DFID having been a founding member, FCDO has taken a leading role on some key issues (eg land governance for sustainable land tenure[1]) and has heled shape the debate on priorities led by other donors, eg the Gates- and BMZ-funded[64] SDG2 roadmap[65], Ceres 2030[66], and the intensive policy debates around the UN Food Systems Summit 2021[2].

160. UN Committee for World Food Security (CFS[67]): composed of member states, UN agencies, private sector, civil society, and academia. The UK participates in plenary annual sessions, as hosts or speakers at priority themed sessions (e.g sustainable transitions, food security, land governance, responsible food and ag investment, nutrition, and climate change), and with the CFS leadership to influence the Committee’s priorities and ways of working. The UK also played a key role in the negotiation (including brokering the end of a last-minute stalemate as friend of the chair [over ten years ago]) and rollout of the RAI guidelines.

[1] https://www.donorplatform.org/land-governance/influencing-the-next-tier-of-companies-promoting-responsible-land-based-investments/

[2]  https://www.donorplatform.org/interviews/a-conversation-with-iris-krebber-gdprd-board-member/

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