In an exciting step forward for U.S. support of agriculture and food security in the developing world, Senators Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Robert Casey (D-Penn.) reintroduced their Global Food Security Act (S. 384) this week in the Senate. A similar version of the bill (S. 3529 in the 110th Congress) was introduced in September 2008, but was not considered by the Senate before the Congress adjourned.

The bill calls for $10 billion over five years to fund long-term agricultural initiatives in the developing world. In particular, the bill focuses on increasing funding for agricultural research and technological innovation. The bill also includes $500 million for emergency food assistance.

This legislation is especially important as it comes at a time when the world is struggling with the duel crises of higher than average food prices and a global recession. The developing world – where the majority of households already spend half of their income on food – is being hit particularly hard. In 2008, staple food prices reached record-highs, leaving families unable to afford food, or having to devote more monthly income to food rather than education and health care. Already 963 million people are hungry globally, an increase of 40 million people in just one year.

The Lugar-Casey bill is the beginning of what will hopefully become a trend: developed countries providing development assistance that specifically targets long-term agricultural initiatives that, historically, have been underfunded. In order to achieve food security, and enable the developing world to reap the economic benefits of increased agricultural productivity, we must invest in short-, medium-, and long-term solutions to the hunger crisis. Emergency food aid can provide food for people who are malnourished now, inputs like seeds and fertilizer can assist farmers in having a successful growing season, and safety-net programs like cash-for-work and school feeding programs can prevent further decent into hunger. However, long-term agricultural investments – like building roads and irrigation systems, opening global markets to agricultural products from the developing world, and training smallholder farmers in new agricultural technologies – are essential to stem the cycle of hunger and poverty.

Investing in agriculture could have a remarkable impact in Sub-Saharan Africa in particular, where over fifty percent of families rely on agriculture for both their food and their income, and agriculture contributes to one third of GDP. This legislation is a great advance towards addressing the food crisis, and ensuring that the developing world can prevent future crises through increased agricultural productivity. ONE also released a press statement endorsing the legislation.

-Beth Adler