The Strait of Hormuz crisis is disrupting global energy and fertilizer markets. For the hundreds of millions already living in extreme poverty, the effects could be severe. In this episode, Ben Davis, Director of FAO's Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division, and Marco Knowles, Senior Policy Officer in the same division, make the case for social protection as a more effective response than the costly subsidies that governments are reaching for.   They challenge the idea that cash transfers are handouts, drawing on rigorous evidence showing that rural households invest them productively in agricultural inputs, education, and local economies. And they explain why targeted social assistance outperforms subsidies in both efficiency and reach.  Policy brief: The role of social protection in addressing the impacts of the 2026 conflict in the Middle East – Implications for poverty, food security and smallholder production https://doi.org/10.4060/cd9363en   0:00 Introduction 0:36 Why social protection is urgent now 2:54 Why social protection systems must exist before crises 6:47 Cash transfers are investments 11:37 Social protection vs subsidies 17:44 The politics of cash transfers 25:18 Lessons from COVID-19 28:36 How to finance social protection 31:26 What countries should do now 33:31 Social protection beyond shock response 36:01 Country examples 39:05 What success could look like in 10 years