Finance for a fruitful future: Dutch aid for agriculture 2005-2015
This paper (PDF) from OxfamNovib shows the results of a study analyzing the trend in Dutch Official Development Assistance (ODA) in agriculture and presents policy recommendations to the Dutch government. The paper also maps the current state of Dutch climate finance, since investments in the agricultural sector and adaptation finance are closely intertwined. Dutch ODA for agriculture has been on the rise in the last five years. However, it remains unclear whether expenditures on agriculture are reaching female smallholder farmers. Since farmers are not a homogeneous set of producers, the authors argue that data should be collected on the impact of agricultural investments for specific target groups. For example, small investor farmers tend to be market-oriented yet asset-constrained, which hinders their growth potential and full participation in the market. The extent to which the Dutch programs specifically target this type of farmers is extremely important when it comes to their opportunities to contribute to achieving a sustainable global food system. Subsistence farmers lack most types of assets and at the same time operate in unfavorable environments. They are ill-equipped to participate in cash crop production and marketing activities, and are among the poorest and most exposed in rural areas. This paper calls on the Dutch government to combine a strong ODA budget for agriculture with a solid strategy for resolving hunger by 2030, to scale up climate finance for adaptations in the agricultural sector and to supply improved data on the impact of agricultural investments for each target group and gender.