Submission to IDC on Agriculture and Food Systems

The International Development Committee should hold an inquiry to investigate the coherence of the FCDO’s approach to global food security and agriculture. There is a misalignment between FCDO priorities and how ODA is spent in these areas. Priorities on environment, climate and gender equality should also be considered.

The FCDO highlights “sustainable and inclusive agriculture and food systems as a key priority,” alongside a commitment “to implementing a campaign to improve global food security and nutrition.”[1] ODA funding through channels such as the World Bank and British International Investment (BII) may not be coherent with this approach or other FCDO priorities.

Now is a key time to act, with Sustainable Development Goals behind schedule, particularly Goal 2 Zero Hunger – “if current trends persist, one in five children under age 5 will be affected by stunting in 2030.”[2] The World Bank has just announced a new focus of its funding directed towards agri-business, which includes a doubling of “agri-finance and agribusiness commitments to $9 billion annually by 2030.”[3] BII’s 2020 sector strategy for food and agriculture identifies agri-inputs for industrial agriculture as one of their priority investment areas; the report outlines “Agri inputs (fertilizers, agchem, seeds, distribution, micro-irrigation, farm mechanization)” and “Animal protein (including animal feed and dairy)” as priority subsectors, both of which run counter to priorities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture production and shift away from fossil-fuel intensive food production.[4] They also focus on “select staple and traded commodities”, which prioritises the interests of agribusiness rather than smallholder farmers, and commercial interests rather than food production for food security.[5]

Closer scrutiny is required in this area to improve efficacy, coherence and consistency of UK ODA spending and aims of the FCDO, to increase efforts towards poverty reduction, climate change alleviation, gender equality and preservation of nature and biodiversity. UK ODA spending on agricultural development is a small percentage of overall ODA (around 5% according to a 2023 ICAI report[6]) and spending on sustainable agriculture is a tiny percentage of that. This is despite spending on agricultural development being highly impactful in poverty reduction – “in general two to three times more effective at reducing poverty than an equivalent amount of growth generated in other sectors.”[7] If funding through one ODA stream is in conflict and undermining funding and strategy in other streams, then this is counterproductive to progress and not a strategic use of taxpayers’ money.

The Government needs to act to ensure progress on the SDGs, especially regarding food insecurity and hunger, with a coherent strategy across funding streams, and clear criteria on impacts and outcomes. This can include an end to funding of programmes that are not in alignment with climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, such as further investment in fossil fuels.

Additional information:

• Have you ever engaged with Parliament before (e.g. made a submission to a select committee)?
• Yes – CAFOD has made representations to various calls for information, and staff and partners have presented information at inquiries.
• Do you have personal or field experience related to international development issues?
• Yes – CAFOD programmes with local/national NGOs in over 30 countries in the world.
• If you are invited to pitch your idea to the Committee, would you be able to travel to London and back within the same day?
• Yes – CAFOD UK staff are available for in person representation. CAFOD and partner spokespeople are also available online.