Today's top stories on global agricultural development and food security issues.
February 21, 2012
By Sung Lee
Using Diplomacy to Create Jobs, Opinion, Thomas R. Nides, Politico, February 19
In this increasingly interconnected and dynamic world, we must work together – whether businesspeople or diplomats, Americans or our international friends – to advance our shared prosperity. We must continue to build the rules, institutions, and relationships necessary to systematically advance the economic interests of our citizens and businesses well into the future. America’s economic strength and our global leadership are a package deal.
Yemen's Instability Could Be Fixed by Food Aid, William Lambers, History News Network, February 20
UNICEF is trying to provide plumpy'nut, a special peanut paste to save Yemeni children from potentially deadly malnutrition. However, low funding prevents them from reaching the vast majority of mouths. Low funding has forced the UN WFP to scale back food programs for children as well as other hunger relief efforts.
USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah Discusses the Importance of Faith-Based Groups to Combat Global Hunger and Poverty, PBS, February 17
Partners like World Vision or Catholic Relief Services that take the time to engage with communities they’re trying to serve, that are willing to be there for the long run, that work in partnership and cooperation with governments so that they are coordinating their efforts and getting the most out of what we—the investments we make.
Obama Says Export Aid Will Help U.S. Companies Compete, Bloomberg, February 17
The administration will use existing authority “so that the Export-Import Bank can provide U.S. firms competing for domestic or third-country sales with matching financing support to counter foreign non-competitive official financing that fails to observe international disciplines,” the White House said in a statement released in conjunction with Obama's Boeing visit.
Malnutrition: Why EMs Should Care, Financial Times, February 17
Malnutrition, while not a new problem, has in recent years been exacerbated by a combination of factors such as climate change, volatile food prices, demographic shifts and of course renewed economic uncertainty. And while the humanitarian reasons for tackling malnutrition have been widely reported, the economic case is often overlooked. Billions of dollars are wasted in forgone productivity and avoidable healthcare spending.
FY13 Budget: Making Smart Investments, Opinion, Rajiv Shah, USAID, February 16
It is important to remember that these numbers represent lives around the world that can be supported and saved through our smart investments in agriculture, health, and access to clean water, among other programs. And these investments come at an incredibly small fraction of our national budget—in the case of development assistance, less than one percent.
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