Since 2004, African Union member states have identified social protection as a key strategy for enhancing social development and inclusive growth. After the global food crisis in 2008, agriculture has also resurfaced on the policy agenda of many African governments and international agencies.
Agriculture and social protection can complement and support each other in reducing hunger and poverty.

Through the Protection to Production (PtoP) project, led by FAO and UNICEF, considerable evidence points to the productive and economic impacts of social protection and its contribution to sustainable poverty reduction and economic growth in Africa. However, less is known on how to strengthen the links to agricultural development, including the opportunities for doing so and the challenges to be overcome.

This project was commissioned to help fill this gap in knowledge. It addresses two main questions:

• What are the current experiences of efforts to achieve coherence between agricultural and social protection policies and programmes, especially in low-income countries (LICs) in Africa?
• What lessons and insights do these experiences hold for achieving more and better coordination between the two sectors?

Case studies were carried out in seven countries across Africa (Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Zambia), Asia (Bangladesh) and Latin America (Mexico, Peru). The studies examined programme concepts and methods, coordination and outcomes. In most countries, two programmes from the agricultural sector and two from the social protection sector were observed.