The most expensive way to end hunger is through social protection programmes such as cash transfers. Another way is through job creation and income generation. The two approaches are not mutually exclusive. But an income-generating approach to ending hunger can simultaneously enable productive investments in agrifood systems and facilitate a redistribution of production and consumption to where it is needed most. It will also accelerate the adoption of new and cleaner technologies, aimed to increase productivity sustainably.

Addressing the imbalances of the system while ensuring that the world is free of hunger in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable way is at the core of the global challenges faced by agrifood systems. This report identifies effective interventions to support the agro-industrialization process, emphasizing the critical role of skilled labour to meet the demands of an industrial sector.

The biggest challenge to achieving this agenda is access to finance, particularly for the “missing middle” – small-scale producers and agrifood SMEs looking for loans or collaterals. Here is where social protection programmes can support the income-generating approach. Cash plus programmes have a strong body of evidence supporting their impact on income. They provide regular cash transfers in combination with economic programmes to boost growth and production, particularly to increase the productivity and build infrastructure. The Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) of the Ethiopian Government is one of the most successful interventions to date. Finally, trade and competition policy, together with stronger regional integration are essential to ensure that the benefits of growth are equitably distributed to those who need it most.

The report was launched at the World Without Hunger Conference, organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), in Addis Ababa on 4 November 2024.