Recommendation 2

HM Government Accepted

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 Smallholder farmers in low-income countries are vital players in sustainable food systems. We welcome some of the steps taken to assess the impact of new trade deals on low-income countries. Currently, though, there is more to be done to ensure that the range of tools the UK has to alleviate poverty are sensitive to the role smallholders have to play, and the factors that determine their success or failure. We recommend the Government assess its trade, agriculture, climate and gender programmes against the impact they have on smallholder farmers. Where necessary, these programmes should be adjusted to mitigate harm against smallholder famers and to enhance their place within sustainable food systems. (Recommendation 3) Government Response – Partially Agree 13. We agree that smallholder farmers are vital players in the global food system and that it is important to consider the impact relevant government programmes have on them. Smallholder farmers have been central to UK’s ODA policy and programming on food and agriculture, and we support a range of programmes and initiatives to promote food security while also helping smallholders to benefit from sustainably increased incomes (including moving beyond farming). Our programmes have focused on supporting farmers in the most climate vulnerable countries to adopt sustainable and resilient agricultural practices and to secure access to local markets. 14. The UK already has social and environmental safeguarding frameworks in place to ensure we effectively assess, manage and mitigate any negative consequences a programme or policy may have on individuals, communities, or groups. DBT publishes scoping assessments for new free trade agreements, prior to negotiations commencing, impact assessments after negotiations have concluded, and post implementation reviews within five years of the FTA coming into force. These provide an assessment of the potential implications for different groups in the labour market, including women. The UK recognises the importance of expanding our understanding of the gender impacts of trade. We are committed to building our evidence base through analysis of qualitative and quantitative data, which is used to inform our trade agreement implementation activities. 15. In light of these existing processes and in the context of the current Spending Review we do not think a separate assessment of government programmes’ impact on smallholder farmers is warranted at this stage. Depending on the outcome of the Spending Review and the scope and focus of future ODA programmes, we will consider the case for further impact assessment in 2026. Disability and food insecurity Conclusion and Recommendation 4 Disabled people are particularly vulnerable to hunger and their needs must be incorporated into all Zero Hunger focussed programming. The Government have made important steps in this direction. We recom