On July 20th, 2010, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight, and the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, held a hearing entitled, “Oversight of the Feed the Future Initiative.”
In his opening remarks, Russ Carnahan (D - MO), Chairman of the International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight Subcommittee, noted the “need to focus on breeding,biotechnology, and agronomic practices” to feed the world’s growing population in the future. Additionally, he called on the USG to use its “smart power” to end “unfair trade restrictions on genetically modified food in Europe – a key impediment to increased use of biotechnology in Africa."
Patricia Haslach, Deputy Coordinator for Diplomacy in the Office of the Coordinator for the Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative at the U.S. Department of State, remarked on USG efforts to increase donor accountability and donor coordination on the at country, regional and global levels. She also briefly touched the on the interagency coordination and whole-of-government approach for the FTF initiative, citing the leadership shown by Secretaries Clinton, Geithner, and Vilsack, as well as Administrator Shah.
William Garvelink, Deputy Coordinator for Development in the Office of the Coordinator for the Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative at the U.S. Agency for International Development, described three areas in which the Feed the Future Initiative has shaped USAID’s expanded development assistance efforts over the last year: 1) assumed greater role in coordination and leadership in facilitating robust country-led processes; 2) renewed focus on combating child under-nutrition; and 3) renewed support for global agricultural research.
Other witnesses testifying at the hearing included: William H. Danforth, Chairman, Board of Directors, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center; Gerald A. Steiner, Executive Vice-President, Sustainability and Corporate Affairs, Monsanto Corporation; Hans Herren, President, Millennium Institute; Evelyn Nassuna, Uganda Country Director, Lutheran World Relief; and Jennifer Smith Nazaire, Country Representative, Catholic Relief Services – Rwanda.
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