Year of publication 2020

Economic inclusion is at the forefront of the social protection agenda, and a concept increasingly recognized and developed by policymakers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and development partners at large. However, the actual underpinnings behind this term vary greatly, from broad, multisectoral, long-term approaches, to time-bound integrated bundles of interventions. Nonetheless, there is an increased understanding that effective economic inclusion processes and programmes will need to be integrated within broader systems, moving away from standalone and time-bound interventions (Heinemann, Montesquiou, and Hashemi, 2018). The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recognizes economic inclusion as one key pillar to eradicate extreme poverty, to foster more equal societies, and to reduce disparities between urban and rural areas (FAO 2019a).