Global Food for Thought

Delivering High Impact Development

February 16, 2012

By Sung Lee

Secretary Clinton said the United States is placing more emphasis on "practicing high-impact development" and helping the countries to become more self-sufficient.

Speaking at a town hall meeting at the United States Agency for International Development, Clinton said that the State department's Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review and the USAID Forward are producing results and getting maximum impact from every aid dollars.

The QDDR set four main lines of activities: 1) modernize diplomacy and development to match the opportunities and challenges of the 21st century; 2) transform our approach to development – strengthening the ability to elevate development as a pillar of civilian power alongside diplomacy and defense; 3) Prevent and respond to crises and conflicts through partnership; and 4) working better by working smarter.

Clinton said, “I mean, ultimately – it’s a very unlikely goal, but I think it’s an important one – we want to work ourselves out of the business. Our goal is self-sufficiency - people being able to feed themselves and have governments that care enough about their people to provide healthcare and do all the work that we know makes for a better life.”

Secretary Clinton and Administrator Shah’s remarks are available here.

Today's top stories on global agricultural development and food security issues.

World Bank chief to step down, Wall Street Journal, February 16
World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Wednesday he would step down as scheduled when his term ends in June, setting the stage for a new leader to be named to the international lender in the coming weeks. The bank, which is owned by 187 nations and lends to developing economies, has been led by an American since its creation after World War II. The U.S. is the bank's largest shareholder.

China to buy $4.3 billion of Soybeans in deals with U.S. exporters in Iowa, Bloomberg, February 15
China, the world’s biggest soybean importer and consumer, signed agreements in Iowa to purchase 8.62 million metric tons of the oilseed from U.S. suppliers in a deal valued at $4.3 billion. China became the largest buyer of U.S. farm products in 2010, and last year boosted purchases to $22.17 billion, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show

Iowa and China have come full circle, Opinion, Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, Des Moines Register, February 15
When I welcome Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping to the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates today, it will represent both the culmination of my personal connection to that country over the past five decades, as well as a capstone marking the transformation of China during that period.

Tackling Child Malnutrition

February 15, 2012
By Sung Lee

Save the Children, an international aid organization, urged the international community to take an immediate action to help almost half a billion children who are suffering from malnutrition. The new report, A Life Free from Hunger, states that 300 children die of malnutrition every day.  Malnutrition is the root cause of the deaths of 2.6 million children every year.  The report also states that nearly two in five children in Africa, more than 60 million children, are stunted. The full report is available here.

Today's top stories on global agricultural development and food security issues.

Poor diet kills 2.6 million infants a year, says survey by Save the Children, Guardian, February 15
Malnutrition is the root cause of the deaths of 2.6 million children each year, and the bodies and brains of 450 million more will fail to develop properly due to inadequate diet over the next 15 years unless immediate action is taken, according to a survey published by a leading international charity.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, U.S. Department of Agriculture, February 15
Rural America supplies food for our country and the world. Agriculture is also a critical driver of our economy, helping support 1 in 12 American jobs. Last year, exports of American agricultural goods reached a new record, helping drive record farm income and supporting more than one million jobs.

"A Catastrophic Year" as Hunger Crisis Looms over Sahel, IPS, February 15
Seven out of the eight governments in the Sahel – the arid zone between the Sahara desert in North Africa and Sudan’s Savannas in the south – have taken the unprecedented step of declaring emergencies as 12 million people in the region are threatened by hunger. Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria have all called for international assistance to prevent yet another hunger crisis on the continent.

Aid groups seek flexible food assistance program in farm bill, Agri-Pulse, February 15
Currently, the United States provides approximately 50% of food aid globally at an estimated annual cost to taxpayers of $2 billion, roughly 80% of which is delivered by a half-dozen programs contained in the Trade Title of the 2008 Farm Bill. They include P.L. 480, Food for Progress, McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, and the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust.

Pioneer Will Establish Seed Research Center in Beijing, Des Moines Register, February 14
DuPont, the parent company of Pioneer Hi-Bred in Johnston, will build a seed technology hub in Beijing, China, the company announced today. The hub, which is slated to open later this year, will use molecular breeding to develop high-yield corn hybrids. China is a growing importer of corn from the United States, but Pioneer executives believe that the fast-growing country can move into the top tier of corn producers in 15 years by using modern seed and production techniques.

The State Department Releases FY 2013 Budget Fact Sheet

February 14, 2012

By Sung Lee

Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides and U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Rajiv Shah held a press conference to discuss the FY 2013 State Department and USAID budget. Administrator Shah said, “Feed the Future program, the President and Secretary’s signature effort to advance food security around the world, is based – is funded at $1 billion and is predicated on the point that it’s cheaper and smarter to help countries feed themselves than to address famine, food riots, and failed states that result from food insecurity.” A complete replay of yesterday's briefing can be viewed on the State Department’s website. The State Department also released FY 2013 budget fact sheet. 

Today's top stories on global agricultural development and food security issues.

An agency-by-agency guide to Obama’s proposed budget for fiscal 2013, Washington Post, February 13
The spending plan sets aside $770 million for the creation of a new Middle East and North Africa Incentive Fund to promote democracy, good governance and free market economies in Arab nations roiled by revolt. It allocates $2.7 billion in economic assistance to support transitions in other parts of the developing world, including the world’s newest nation, South Sudan, Liberia, Haiti and Myanmar.

5 coming battles over the 2013 international affairs budget, Josh Rogin, Foreign Policy, February 13
The State Department and USAID requested $51.6 billion for fiscal year 2013, but $8.2 billion is categorized as temporarily needed funding for Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan under what's called the Overseas Contingency Operations fund (OCO) account. The remaining $43.6 billion is the "core budget" request and represents a 10 percent increase over fiscal 2012 levels as enacted by Congress.

State Department to see modest spending increase, Washington Post, February 13
The administration’s plan calls for $43.4 in funding for the department’s so-called “core” budget, with an additional $8.2 billion for “overseas contingency operations,” which includes civilian-led missions in war zones. Total spending would rise by 1.6 percent over 2012 levels. International programs don't have strong constituencies on Capitol Hill to begin with, and Congress has its own ideas for how to spend foreign aid.

On the Farm: Where China runs a trade deficit with the U.S., Wall Street Journal, February 14
Agricultural policy has lately proved a tough row to hoe for the U.S. and China — the world’s largest agriculture exporter and the world’s largest producer, respectively. There was an unexpected spat over animal feed last June, and lately top Chinese officials have been downplaying the country’s need for U.S. corn. But at least for Vice President Xi Jinping’s visit to the U.S., China is pursuing a detente in the farm fight. China is keen to cooperate with the U.S. in food security, sustainable agriculture, agricultural trade, and agricultural science and technology.

President Obama Submits FY13 Budget to Congress

February 13, 2012

By Sung Lee

Today the President released his FY13 Department of State and Other International Programs Budget request, totaling $51.6 billion.  This request includes $43.4 billion for the State and USAID core budget and $8.2 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations.  The president's FY 13 budget includes a total of $9.3 billion for investments in health, food security and climate change, which contains: 1) $7.9 billion for the Global Health Initiative (including $5.4 billion for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)); 2) $1 billion for the Feed the Future program; 3) $469.5 million for Global Climate Change.  The president’s budget also includes $4 billion in humanitarian assistance, $5.1 billion for military assitance, $2.7 billion in economic and transition assitance, and $4.1 billion in contributions to international organizations.  The President’s FY13 budget is available here.  Additional analysis of the President’s FY13 Budget request will be available later this week.

Today's top stories on global agricultural development and food security issues.

Vilsack Makes U.S. Agriculture a High-Growth Area, Bloomberg, February 12
The farm sector is one of the few bright spots in a rough U.S. economy. Vilsack, the popular former governor of Iowa, who has an appreciation of policy and politics, is one of the success stories of the Obama administration. Vilsack, 61, has been in office three years, and is emerging as one of the most effective and respected agriculture chiefs.

China to deepen agricultural co-op with US, China Daily, February 12
The agricultural ministries of China and the United States will further enhance agricultural exchanges and cooperation, deepening mutual understanding and trust, so as to achieve mutually beneficial development in the future, said Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu. Agriculture was one of the first areas in which China and the United States began to cooperate, as the two are both large nations of agricultural production, trade and consumption and viewed agriculture as a strategic and basic industry.

The World Needs America, Opinion, Robert Kagan, Wall Street Journal, February 11
We may discover then that the U.S. was essential to keeping the present world order together and that the alternative to American power was not peace and harmony but chaos and catastrophe—which is what the world looked like right before the American order came into being.

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The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index

February 10, 2012

By Sung Lee

Empowering women spurs economic and social growth in communities and nations, leading to transformational change. Women farmers, in particular, have enormous untapped productive capacity if they have the same access as men to resources. The Chicago Council’s recent report, Girls Grow: A Vital Force in Rural Economies, stated that when female farmers were given the same access to agricultural products as men: 1) women’s agricultural yields could increase by 20 to 30 percent; 2) national agricultural output could increase by 2.5 to 4 percent; 3) the number of undernourished people could be reduced by 12 to 17 percent.

This week, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) have come together to develop a Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index to measure women’s roles and engagement in the agriculture sector. The Index will be used by USAID Washington and Missions for both performance monitoring and impact evaluation purposes. The index is expected to be available in March 2012. More information is available here.

Today's top stories on global agricultural development and food security issues.

World Bank: the case for African free-trade, Financial Times, February 9
Africa’s level of internal trade is very low compared to other regions. Only about 10-12 percent of African trade is with other African nations – the comparison figure for North America is 40 percent; Western European intra-trade is 63 percent; ASEAN nations trade around 30 percent with each other. This dependency on world trade makes African countries susceptible to global shocks and protectionism.

Lessons Unlearned: Why Another Gigantic Famine Looms in Africa, TIME, February 10
Droughts don't inevitably mean famine. While they may set the conditions for starvation, only human beings ensure it. The Sahel poses a challenge to mass food-aid distribution: it is far larger than Somalia and though it is not consumed by civil war, it does experience fighting in parts. Much more important is the question of whether there will be enough food to distribute. Today barely half of the $650 million the U.N. says it needs has even been pledged, let alone handed over.

Aid management goes automated, IRIN News, February 10
The World Food Programme (WFP) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are undertaking a US$46,000 customization of an open-source software commonly used in disaster relief, Sahana, to develop a national relief goods inventory and monitoring system, or RGIMS. RGIMS covers inventory and warehousing, tracking and monitoring, and reporting and evaluation.

Global food prices increased for the first time in six months

Today's top stories on global agricultural development and food security issues.

February 9, 2012
By Sung Lee

According to the latest FAO Food Price Index, global food price rose nearly 2 percent (4 points) up from December, marking its first increase since July 2011. International prices of all major cereals with the exception of rice rose in January. FAO Food Price Index measures the monthly change in international prices of several food commodities. The latest figures are available here.

World Food Prices Rose Most in 11 Months, Bloomberg, February 9
Global food prices rose 1.9 percent in January, the biggest gain in 11 months as the cost of oilseeds, dairy and grains increased. An index of 55 food items climbed to 214.3 points from a restated 210.3 points in December, the Rome-based FAO said on its website today. All commodity groups in the index advanced, according to the UN agency.

US soldiers train for agricultural mission in Afghanistan, Fox News, February 8
Before they're deployed to help stabilize Afghanistan, hundreds of U.S. Army troops, Marines, and other government personnel head to Fresno, Calif., for a crash course on that war-torn country's most vital industry: agriculture. The program is called ADAPT: The Agricultural Development for the Afghanistan Pre-deployment Training.

The Fanciful World of Foreign Aid, New York Times, February 8
Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank, recently said, “The flow of knowledge is no longer North to South, West to East, rich to poor.” The same is true of aid. Foreign aid is no longer a transaction of rich countries giving to the poor. The categories of donor and recipient have blurred. A donor one moment may be a recipient the next. Like Brazil, Russia, and China, India both receives and gives aid.

Feeding the World: The 9-Billion People Question

Today's top stories on global agricultural development and food security issues.

February 8, 2012
By Sung Lee

‘Feeding the World’ Economist Conference opened today in Geneva to deliver fresh insight into solving the critical food challenges. The speakers included: Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fishing, France; Paul Conway, Vice Chairman, Cargill; Thomas Lumpkin, Director General, CIMMYT; Jim Borel, Executive Vice President, DuPont; Graziano da Silva, Director General, UN Food and Agriculture Organization; Paul Bulcke, CEO, Nestle; and David Nabarro, Special Representative on Food Security and Nutrition, United Nations. More information about ‘Feeding the World’ conference is available here.

Nestlé CEO stresses private and public sector collaboration is needed to address global food crisis, Finchannel, February 8
According to Nestlé, in a speech at the 'Feeding the World’ Economist Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Mr Bulcke said that the increasing world population, food waste, worldwide water shortages and the issue of using food for biofuels among others, all impact on food security. Despite the challenges, there are ways and solutions to address this, he emphasised. 

Syngenta seeds integration ahead of plan, lifts market share, Bloomberg, February 8
Syngenta AG, the world’s largest maker of agricultural chemicals, said the redesign of the company along crop lines is ahead of schedule, helping boost market share and lift profit 16 percent last year. The integration of the Swiss company’s crop-protection and seed units will be completed by the middle of this year and probably already yielded a 1 percentage-point gain in market share in Latin America, CEO Mike Mack said in an interview.

India minister: tough to implement Food Security Law, Wall Street Journal, February 8
India's plan to roll out an ambitious food security program to give cheap foodgrains to the poor and malnourished won't succeed unless the government revamps a creaky distribution network and boosts other infrastructure such as storage and transport, Farm Minister Sharad Pawar said. The proposed food security law is being debated in parliament and the government is hoping to introduce it this year.

Biotech crops area increases 8%, Financial Times, February 7
The most authoritative annual survey of biotech crops, carried out by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Application, found that area planted globally reached 160m hectares in 2011, an increase of 8 percent on 2010. The US remains the world leader in agricultural biotechnology, with 69m hectares planted with GM crops, a 3 per cent rise, and much the largest research and development activity.

Today's Agriculture and Food Security News

Today's top stories on global agricultural development and food security issues.

February 7, 2012
By Sung Lee

The US Agency for International Development has revised its procurement regulations, permitting the US to purchase goods and services from developing countries.  Previously, the US aid agency was required to obtain all its supplies from American companies, which resulted in USAID paying higher prices for goods and services.  However, the new regulations do not extend to US-funded food aid. American food aid must still be bought from US suppliers and transported on US ships, according to the Guardian article.

Crises in a New World Order: Challenging the humanitarian project, Oxfam, February 7
The growing number of vulnerable people, the rise in disasters, and the failure to put most fragile states on the path to development, will significantly increase needs. Already, new donors and NGOs from around the world provide a significant share of humanitarian aid. Future humanitarian action will rely on them, and on the governments and civil society of crisis-affected countries even more. The UN and INGOs will be vital, but their contribution will increasingly be measured by how well they complement and support the efforts of others, and encourage every humanitarian actor to uphold humanitarian principles.

Farmers Can Grow Food for All, as Long as Ecosystems Hold, Bloomberg, February 6
The human population is headed to 9.3 billion by 2050, with the middle class expanding from 1.8 billion to 4.9 billion consumers, according to estimates by the UN and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Global farm output must rise 70 percent by 2050 to nourish everyone, as more people seek a higher calorie count every day, according to the FAO.

Arab World Faces Serious Poverty, Food Security Challenges, VOA News, February 6
The International Food Policy Research Institute, IFPRI, says its report shows a more realistic picture of the Arab world. The report says Arab countries face a serious food security challenge and that poverty rates are much higher than official numbers suggest. It blames the situation on vulnerability to volatile food prices, natural disasters and water scarcity.

Gold -- the Color of Impending Starvation, Opinion, David Weiss, Huffington Post, February 6
Knowledge is the most important facet here in avoiding future disasters. If we continue to invest time, money and effort now into the education of farmers in the Horn of Africa, we can avert future famines and, in turn, avert refugee crises, conflict and instability in the region. Every cent invested in education now will make a profound difference in the long term.

Somalia Famine Ends, But Situation Still Dire In the Horn of Africa

Today's top stories on global agricultural development and food security issues.

February 6, 2012
By Sung Lee

The United Nations declared an end to famine conditions in Somalia last Friday. “Long-awaited rains coupled with substantial agricultural inputs and the humanitarian response deployed in the last six months are the main reasons for this improvement,” said FAO’s new Director General Jose Graziano da Silva.  However, 2.3 million people, 31 percent of the country’s total population, remain in a food crisis situation in Somalia. “The Horn of Africa will be for FAO the most important region and we’ll be doing our best here to improve food security,” he said. “We do believe it is possible to have a Horn of Africa free of hunger."

United States Advances Global Food Security under L'Aquila Food Security Initiative, U.S. State Department, February 2
Food security is closely linked to economic growth, social progress, political stability, and peace. This is why we must show real progress in delivering on commitments to improve food security. AFSI participants convene twice annually to review progress toward meeting commitments, including financial pledges, and to discuss best practices and lessons learned.

Keeping Promises on Food Security, Opinion, Jonathan Shrier, DipNote, U.S. State Department, February 3
In the United States, this pledge is embodied in Feed the Future, the U.S. government's global hunger and food security initiative. Taking a uniquely comprehensive approach to food security by investing in entire agricultural value chains, from seeds to markets to consumers, Feed the Future is the largest investment in agricultural development the United States has made in decades.

Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing, UN High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability January 30
The Panel's final report, "Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing", contains 56 recommendations to put sustainable development into practice and to mainstream it into economic policy as quickly as possible.