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Changing Lives for Smallholder Farmers - Beyond the Annual Performance Report 2018 Series

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INTRODUCTION

Global hunger has been on the rise, affecting 821 million people in 2018. Conflicts and insecurity which cause people to become displaced have been the main drivers of food insecurity. Weather extremes have exacerbated the downward spiral of food insecurity by impacting agricultural productivity, food production and natural resources. These have led to changes in food systems and the emergence of new challenges to addressing the urgent needs of the most vulnerable.

ACHIEVING FOOD SECURITY

In line with the vision of achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 - Zero Hunger by 2030, the World Food Programme (WFP) commits in the Strategic Plan 2017-2021 to provide the most food-insecure people with opportunities that build their resilience and contribute to productive opportunities over the long term. Under the plan’s Strategic Objective 3 (SO3), WFP aims to promote food security by improving the productivity and income of smallholders (Strategic Result 3) and make food systems sustainable (Strategic Result 4). Country Strategic Plans are compared to previous projectbased planning fundamental to achieve such results by offering a framework in support of longer-term planning and stimulation of synergies across activities.

LINKING HUMANITARIAN AND DEVELOPMENT RESPONSES

In a context of increasing complexity, WFP builds on its comparative advantage in emergency settings to link humanitarian and development responses. WFP’s ability to combine competency in comprehensive food security analysis, livelihood programming, and monitoring with capacity in practical and innovative food supply chain management is also relevant. By investing in sustainable solutions that restore the natural resource base, protect communities against climate shocks and predict extreme weather events, WFP plans to reduce the cost of emergency response.

FINANCIAL RESOURCES

To achieve the desired outcomes under SO3, WFP needs to sustain its investments over the long term. From 2018 to 2021, WFP estimates that an average of around USD 610 million per year would be required to ensure that SO3 activities are implemented at scale to improve the income and food security of smallholders in 59 countries.

Changing Lives for Smallholder Farmers aims to highlight the achievements made by WFP in 2018 to support smallholder farmers with opportunities that enable them to transition from being recipients of food assistance to self-reliance. Section II presents the wide range of instruments, activities and platforms used by WFP to tackle the complex constraints facing smallholders. The applicability of these interventions in the field is highlighted through country examples in Section III. Section IV reviews the opportunities going forward. This thematic report presents data acquired from WFP’s corporate systems and is complementary to the 2018 Annual Performance Report.