Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to support developing countries to make their agricultural practices more environmentally friendly.

At the UN Climate Action Summit, the UK announced support to the ‘Just Rural Transition’ initiative under which governments, businesses and civic organisations are uniting to drive a shift to sustainable land-use. This initiative includes a policy coalition that will help developing countries put policies in place for more environmentally friendly and sustainable agriculture, and an investment partnership to leverage private sector investment for sustainable land use and improved livelihoods for poor farmers.

DFID is supporting smallholder farmers in nearly 50 countries to improve sustainable agriculture. At the Summit, we announced an additional £61 million for climate adapted agriculture and innovation to help small-scale farmers increase productivity without degrading the environment.

DFID support to tackle deforestation in developing countries has brought 2.6 million hectares of land under sustainable management and mobilised £260 million of private investment in sustainable production of commodities like palm oil, cocoa and soya.