Recommendation 1

HM Government Accepted

Partially Agree 5. The Government recognises the critical role sustainable land-use, agriculture and food systems play in tackling the climate and nature crises through their capacity to mitigate emissions, protect and restore ecosystems and build the resilience of communities and economies. We agree that UK investment in agriculture—with important benefits for food security, growth and health—should be assessed rigorously for its impact on climate and nature, and the contribution it makes to climate adaptation and mitigation. 6. The current Spending Review will determine future spending priorities for UK climate finance, including how it will address the impact of climate change on nutrition and food systems; in this light, a separate assessment would not be appropriate at this stage. 7. The FCDO reports annually on the proportion of our bilateral ICF spend that is nutrition-related (including nutrition-specific or nutrition-sensitive objectives), as part of an annual accountability report on progress against FCDO’s nutrition pledges, including our commitment to integrate nutrition objectives in FCDO’s bilateral ODA portfolio. 8. In 2023, ICAI conducted a review, “UK aid to agriculture in a time of climate change”, which was rated green-amber; since then, the FCDO has developed guidance on use of ICF for food and agriculture programmes. The majority of FCDO’s non-humanitarian food and nutrition programming builds in explicit climate outcomes and action and is eligible to spend International Climate Finance (ICF). Examples include: (i) the Just Rural Transition (JRT) support programme, which works with partner countries to design and implement more sustainable agriculture policies and fiscal reforms for climate, nature and development co-benefits; (ii) the UK’s contribution to the Global Agricultural and Food Security Program (GAFSP), supporting critical food security interventions and promoting climate-resilient and sustainable practices in the world’s poorest countries; (iii) the Global Land Governance Programme, supporting the rights of Indigenous People and Local Communities and security of land and forest tenure for sustainable land management and loss of forests, including as carbon sinks. Gender and age dimensions and their interrelationship with hunger Conclusions and Recommendation 2 The inclusion of women in the design of Zero Hunger policy and programming is vital for equitable and cost-effective progress toward SDG2. Moreover, programming that does not use carefully disaggregated data to ensure it is sensitive to both gender and age dimensions of hunger is unlikely to achieve sustainable results. (Conclusion, Paragraph 20) We call on the Government to renew its focus on improving both the gender relevance of nutrition-specific funding as well as the sensitivity of gender-specific programming to food systems and nutrition. (Recommendation 2) Government Response – Agree 9. The UK is committed to tackling gender inequality around the world and has placed empowering women and girls at the heart of its international work. Investing in women and girls and breaking down the barriers they face is essential to development and the UK’s missions overseas. 10. The Government recognises the importance of including women and girls in policy and programming targeting food security and nutrition, and of considering nutrition in relevant gender programmes. Women and girls are disproportionally affected by malnutrition, especially in LMICs where undernutrition and anaemia are acknowledged to be major risk factors in pregnancy and delivery. Therefore, improving girls’ and women’s nutrition is critical to improving maternal and new-born health, a current FCDO priority. 11. Our food and nutrition investments already have a strong gender focus. Our analysis through the Nutrition Accountability Report shows that in 2022, 88% of our nutrition-related spend was gender sensitive. The FCDO currently supports programmes that scale up high impact maternal nutrition interventions through the health sector and build gender equality and inclusion in agrifood systems, including through the UK support to the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF), which promotes nutrition interventions targeting pregnant and lactating women and children under five; and the Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA) programme, which works with agribusinesses to adopt gender-responsive practices to sustainably increase economic opportunities for women. 12. However, there is room to improve. The 2024 Commercial Agricultural Portfolio Review is expected to be published by June, providing insights into 31 of FCDO’s programmes including on women’s economic empowerment and nutrition. We will ensure future programmes consider gender equality, strengthen the integration of nutrition objectives and uphold a do no harm approach in design and implementation. Smallholder farmers and sustainable food systems Conclusions and Recommendation 3 Smallhold