HC Deb 19 December 2002 vol 396 cc908-9W
Mr. Lyons

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance the UK is giving the underdeveloped countries of Africa to produce sustainable crops. [87766]

Clare Short

My Department works with developing countries to ensure that their poverty reduction strategies reflect the need to manage environmental resources, including agricultural production, sustainably. Sustainability must be seen in its widest context. It is not just a matter of the ecology of agricultural systems themselves, but the impact of these systems on the lives and opportunities of others, particularly poor consumers and producers. Sustainability in one system cannot be at the expense of sustainability in others.

My Department also supports a significant number of programmes and projects throughout the developing world that seek to provide direct benefits to poor people whose livelihoods are dependent on agriculture. Many of these include the provision of support to sustainable agriculture, either through training and knowledge/technology transfer, institutional capacity building and reform (e.g. strengthening co-operatives and other forms of producer groups and improving agricultural service delivery) or the funding of research, both national and international.

This year, DFID expects to spend about £35 million on natural resources research. While sustainability is a cornerstone for all our research programmes, a significant proportion of the programme is focused on developing and transferring technologies specifically for sustainable agriculture.

Copies of the DFID issues paper "Better Livelihoods for Poor People: The Role of Agriculture and the Renewable Natural Resources Research Strategy" publication are available in the Libraries of the House.

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