The Effects of Development Cooperation in the Field of Food Security and Nutrition

The eradication and reduction of global hunger is a long-standing commitment of the international community. The main drivers of food insecurity and malnutrition are conflict, political instability, economic shocks, climate change and environmental crises. The German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is committed to transforming agricultural and food systems to make them more effective, efficient and resilient. Since 2015, the BMZ has made food security and nutrition a major focus, especially through its special initiative “ONE WORLD – No Hunger”/ “Transformation of agricultural and food systems”.

The High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the United Nations defines food security in terms of six dimensions, namely availability, access, utilisation, stability, sustainability and agency. Especially improving the agency of potentially affected people is seen to be increasingly important in order to combat hunger more sustainably. Agency can be defined by the capacity of rights holders to actively engage in decision making within their food system. This can be achieved by means of interventions that provide information on food and nutrition and strengthen capacity in food production, for example agricultural extension services on climate adapted cultivation techniques or nutritional guidance for mothers.

DEval aims to provide strategically relevant evidence that can guide policy makers and practitioners in German development cooperation (DC) in shaping strategies and interventions to maximise their effects on food security and nutrition in their partner countries. This study therefore aims to support evidence-based decision making for DC actors and institutional learning.

In line with the strategic importance of the agency pillar and the meaningful participation of individuals and communities in their food systems, the study emphasises development cooperation interventions that strengthen knowledge, skills and capabilities. It sheds light on how both food producers and consumers can be empowered to make decisions about their food systems and how this influences food and nutrition levels. The results of the review provide insights for institutional learning on which types of intervention lead to possible outcomes or contribute to intended impacts.

The evaluation team, together with the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), conducted a rapid evidence assessment focusing on the impact of capacity strengthening interventions on food security and nutrition.

This rapid evidence assessment takes the shape of a systematic review that synthesises current research in a meta-analysis. In doing so, it relies on quantitative studies throughout the years 2010 to 2024 from the Evidence Gap Map "Food Systems and Nutrition". A moderator analysis provides insights into the heterogeneity of effects depending on specific context factors and different target groups of the interventions.

In the qualitative analysis, evaluation reports and studies by German and international development cooperation actors as well as further scientific literature was evaluated. The purpose of this was to add in-depth insights on: (i) the role of multicomponent interventions in the effectiveness of capacity strengthening interventions; (ii) the effectiveness of interventions for vulnerable population groups; and (iii) the effect of interventions on resilience. In line with Deval’s standard procedures, a reference group advised on this study. The group is comprised of representatives of the BMZ, implementing organisations, civil society and other (academic) experts.