Worldwide, 80 percent of the extreme poor live in rural areas and of these, 76 percent work in agriculture, and a great share of them relies on subsistence farming. 

Shocks and stresses can affect the stability of agri-food systems and push vulnerable groups reliant on agriculture into destitution and hunger, as too often they lack the means to manage risks. This calls for inclusive risk management approaches that meet the immediate needs of shock-affected populations, while addressing the root causes of risk and vulnerability to create resilient and peaceful communities. 

Social protection comprises a set of policies and programmes that address economic, environmental and social vulnerabilities to food insecurity and poverty and are channelled through a wide range of instruments commonly categorized under three pillars: 

• social assistance 
• social insurance
• labour market interventions 
  

Social protection plays a key role in supporting rural livelihoods in fragile and humanitarian contexts by: 

• Enhancing resilience: social protection programmes help rural households build resilience against shocks and stresses by providing safety nets and delivering emergency assistance before and after crises, which enables them to cope and recover more effectively. 
• Promoting food security: by ensuring access to nutritious food, social protection contributes to reducing hunger and malnutrition, especially when it includes complementary interventions, such as cash+. 
• Reducing poverty: social protection programmes directly address poverty by providing financial support and resources to the most vulnerable, helping them escape the cycle of poverty. 

Related links

 Social protection

 Course: Managing climate risks through social protection

 Webinars on Social Protection