WASHINGTON – In advance of World Food Day, U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Bob Casey (D-Pa.), along with U.S. Representatives Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) and Chris Smith (R-N.J.), introduced a bipartisan, bicameral resolution recognizing a decade of results under the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) signature global food security program, Feed the Future, and the need to continue efforts to accelerate inclusive agricultural development and improved nutrition outcomes for women and children in the developing world.
“Idahoans can be proud of the Feed the Future program because it helps save lives, promotes self-reliance, and opens new trade opportunities,” said Risch. “Moreover, it provides an opportunity for Idahoans to share their unparalleled agricultural expertise and innovation, including through the Feed the Future Biotechnology Potato Partnership. I’m proud that the University of Idaho and J.R. Simplot Company have stepped up and participated in this program to help end hunger and save lives.”
Following the 2007-2008 global food price crisis, USAID launched the whole-of-government Feed the Future Initiative with the aim of reducing global poverty, building resilience and tackling global hunger and malnutrition. The resolution highlights Feed the Future’s success in helping transform countries’ food systems and improve their own food security and nutrition, with investments currently focused in 12 target countries and 35 aligned countries around the world. Since its inception, Feed the Future has helped more than 23.4 million people lift themselves out of poverty, prevented 3.4 million children from being stunted and ensured that 5.2 million families no longer suffer from hunger in areas where the program operates. The resolution highlights the need for continued investment in global food security in the face of the economic impact of COVID–19.
Feed the Future investments benefit communities in the United States as well, including by increasing United States trade and agricultural exports to Feed the Future countries by more than $1.4 billion since its inception and supporting agricultural research partnerships with U.S. universities and land-grant institutions.
This resolution has been endorsed by InterAction and the Food Security, Nutrition and Agriculture Working Group co-chairs Bread for the World, Feed the Children and Food for the Hungry.
Full text of the resolution can be found here.
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