USAID’s new Bureau of Food Security is an important step forward in our country’s efforts to combat global hunger and food insecurity, and I am delighted that Administrator Shah chose to announce the establishment of the Bureau on Monday at the launch of Bread for the World Institute’s 2011 Hunger Report, Our Common Interest: Ending Hunger and Malnutrition.
With the new Bureau to support Feed the Future and other agency programming, USAID is building a solid foundation for an effective U.S. response to the challenges of global hunger and malnutrition.
Our Common Interest argues that Feed the Future may be the best opportunity in decades for the United States to contribute to lasting progress against global hunger and malnutrition. The initiative focuses on boosting the incomes of smallholder farmers and improving nutrition for mothers and children – both absolutely essential to ending hunger.
Our Common Interest includes recommendations to strengthen Feed the Future and U.S. foreign assistance more broadly. It argues for a comprehensive approach to fighting hunger and malnutrition that emphasizes increasing the productivity of smallholder farmers, helping them reach markets, taking advantage of the links between agriculture and nutrition, empowering women, strengthening safety nets, and responding quickly to hunger emergencies.
The report also urges Congress to rewrite the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act to make clear that poverty reduction and development are key elements of U.S. foreign policy. In addition, the United States should take the lead in strengthening international institutions that complement U.S. bilateral assistance in fighting hunger and malnutrition.
Feed the Future is a refreshing throwback to a time when agriculture had a much more prominent place in U.S. foreign assistance. The Bureau of Food Security is another expression of the bold and forward-thinking developments at USAID. Congratulations are very much in order.
