Emphasising the livelihood promotion role of social protection is key for building coalitions between ministries charged with social protection and with agricultural development. Maximising synergies between social protection and agricultural programmes can boost agricultural production and productivity, thus contributing to long-term growth and poverty reduction. Social protection initiatives that evolve out of domestic political agendas and which respond to local conceptualisations and prioritisations of need are more likely to succeed than initiatives which are based on imported, ‘projectised’ models. The long-term success of social protection programmes depends on the strength of local and national political systems. Mobilising the population to claim rights or entitlements from the state is also an essential complement to technocratic approaches to social protection. In order to ensure their long-term sustainability it is imperative that domestic tax collection systems are strengthened. Well-designed national social protection programmes can play a vital role in ensuring that the benefits of, and opportunities provided by, economic growth reach the poorest and most vulnerable households.