About this episode

The episode discusses the role of social protection in preventing food crises exacerbated by the Strait of Hormuz crisis.

The Strait of Hormuz crisis is disrupting global energy and fertilizer markets. For the hundreds of millions already living in extreme poverty, the effects could be severe. In this episode, Ben Davis, Director of FAO's Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division, and Marco Knowles, Senior Policy Officer in the same division, make the case for social protection as a more effective response than the costly subsidies that governments are reaching for. They challenge the idea that cash transfers are handouts, drawing on rigorous evidence showing that rural households invest them productively in agricultural inputs, education, and local economies. And they explain why targeted social assistance outperforms subsidies in both efficiency and reach. Policy b rief: The role of social protection in addressing the impacts of the 2026 conflict in the Middle East – Implications for poverty, food security and smallholder production https://doi.org/10.4060/c d 9363en 0:00 Introduction 0:36 Why social protection is urgent now 2:54 Why social protection systems must exist before crises 6:47 Cash transfers are investments 11:37 Social protection vs subsidies 17:44 The politics of cash…

People in this episode

Guests: Ben Davis, Marco Knowles

Topics covered

• social protection
• food crisis
• poverty
• cash transfers
• subsidies
• agriculture
• Middle East

Keywords

• social protection
• food security
• cash transfers
• subsidies
• poverty
• agriculture
• Middle East

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: FAO

Places: Strait of Hormuz

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