Keep an eye out this month for posts about food security and agriculture as part of our Food Security in Focus series. Food security and agriculture have been pushed to the forefront of the global agenda, and we’d like to make sure they stay there. Now’s your chance to learn more about what’s happening in this policy arena, as well as hear from several of our partners who are working on all aspects of food security and agriculture on the ground, in Africa and in other parts of the developing world.

More than one billion people around the world are hungry—a number that has continually risen in recent years, and has been compounded by global shocks like the food crisis and the current financial crisis. Food security isn’t just about access to food; it’s about children being well-nourished so that they can grow and learn, and adults eating enough nutritious food to be productive, healthy members of society. Food security encompasses all aspects of families, communities, and countries being able to access and utilize nutritious food, and includes research and technological innovation, the development of value chains and access to markets, and setting up regional and global frameworks in which these goals can be achieved.

Beginning this week there are several important events and meetings about global food security, including World Food Day on Friday, October 16th, in addition to the presentation of the World Food Prize in Iowa. These meetings are part of the lead-up to the World Food Summit being hosted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the middle of November.

Hopefully these events will maintain the momentum that was launched at the G8 meeting in L’Aquila in June when the G8 and other donors committed $20 billion for a comprehensive and coordinated global food security strategy called the L’Aquila Food Security Initiative (AFSI). At the G20, donors reiterated the principles outlined at L’Aquila, committing to a comprehensive, coordinated, and developing country-led initiative to increase agricultural productivity, reduce hunger, and achieve food security.

These commitments that have been made in the past few months must be upheld, clarified, and put into action to break the cycle of hunger and poverty. Be sure to follow our series for a comprehensive look at the issues surrounding food security in developing countries!

Overall, the Pittsburgh G20 Summit appears to have made some progress towards reshaping global power structures to make them more representative, but it still has some way to go before it becomes a truly representative global decision making body.

I spent the summit with our US Government Relations Director Tom Hart, who said:

“Moving from the G8 to the G20 is a seismic shift: it brings many more of the world’s people to the table, but the new expanded world body must now start addressing the needs of the poorest countries, especially in Africa. For nearly a decade now, Africa has been squarely on the G8’s agenda, even if delivery on their commitments has been mixed. During this transition time, African development must not fall through the cracks. One way to show the world will not forget Africa would be to hold an upcoming G20 summit on the African continent.”

As I posted earlier here, we passed our petition, in which 75,000 ONE members worldwide call for a G20 Summit to be held in Africa, to the US delegation at the summit.

Below are some key points in the summit’s communique that are relevant to Africa:

• Agriculture – The G20 called on the World Bank to develop a new trust fund, as a way to implement the G8’s food security initiative announced at the L’Aquila Summit in Italy in July. This multilateral fund will support the set of principles championed by the White House to make aid for agriculture more effective, coordinated and geared towards the strategies developed by poor countries themselves.
• Climate change – The G20 failed to call for resources to help the poorest countries adapt to the harmful impacts of climate change, and tackle its causes. It was disappointing that there was no mention of the urgency of addressing these needs.
• African Development Bank – The G20 have reaffirmed the commitment to make sure the multilateral development banks have enough finance, especially the World soft loan arm, the International Development Association (IDA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The African bank has increased its lending to respond to the financial crisis by as much as US$4bn and now needs support to replenish its coffers. ONE welcomes Canada’s announcement of an extra US$2.8bn in loan guarantees for the Bank.
• World Bank and IMF- Both International Financial Institutions took steps towards increasing representation of developing countries.

We’re at a critical moment in the budget process. The House has already passed its version of the State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill, which contains funding for almost all of the anti-poverty and disease programs we advocate for here at ONE. The Senate version of the bill has passed the Appropriations Committee and will move on to the Senate floor soon.

Earlier this month, nearly 50,000 ONE members asked their senators to fully fund the president’s request for global agricultural development. And last week, ONE members in key districts called their representatives and successfully blocked an amendment in the House that would have gutted US aid to multi-lateral institutions.

Check out the video below to hear more from ONE’s Director of Government Relations, Tom Hart on the results of these recent actions, find out where we stand in other critical budget battles, and watch highlights from the lively House debate on the appropriations bill.

-Aaron Banks

Last week, the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa hosted a panel discussion on their recently released recommendations for the new U.S. Government Food Security Initiative. In the Partnership’s latest policy brief, “From Commitment to Action: A Demand-Driven Approach to Improving Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa,” the Partnership recommends a demand-driven, African-owned framework in which to provide foreign assistance funding and programming to increase agricultural productivity.

The panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Julie Howard, Executive Director of the Partnership, included Emmy Simmons, former USAID Assistant Administration for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade, Frank Young, Vice-President, International Development, Abt Associates, Mary Chambliss, Former Deputy Administrator at USDA, and Abdoulaye Diop, Ambassador of Mali to the United States.

The Partnership’s report advocates for five actions as the Food Security Initiative is designed:

• Promote country-led development, ensuring that U.S. support aligns with country-led initiatives.
• Maximize flexibility and transferability of funds with the creation of a “Food Security Fund,” a single-Congressionally-mandated fund that would offer a more simplified and flexible mechanism for food security assistance programs. Currently, there are numerous funding mechanisms each with their own rules, procedures, and implementation models. A single Food Security Fund would simplify these processes and offer assistance at a country and regional level.
• Look toward developing multi-year compacts for food security initiatives to be funded by the Food Security Fund.
• Make food security assistance available to regional organizations, not just individual countries.
• Prioritize local capacity and institution-building through the Food Security Compacts and implementing a results-oriented, learning approach.

In the robust discussion, participants stressed that the creation of the Food Security Initiative is the perfect opportunity to translate the commitment of aid into effective implementation, drawing on some of the tenants of foreign assistance reform. Panelists emphasized the importance of working in collaboration with African partners in order to ensure that these initiatives are successful. The discussion also touched on the necessity of increasing transparency and coordination between U.S-led initiatives. The sheer number of organizations and initiatives on the ground in developing countries, coupled with the lack of coordination among them, makes it difficult for recipient countries to implement strategies successfully. With emphasis on food security coming from the administration, the G8, and developing-country governments, it will be exciting to see how the U.S. Food Security Initiative takes shape.

Check out the full policy brief here.

-Pooja Gupta

Yesterday, for the second time in less than a week, ONE members, staff and interns set off on the metro from our headquarters in Washington DC to Capitol Hill to meet with Senate offices about a top anti-poverty priority: global agricultural development and the fight to end hunger.

We went to deliver messages from the almost 30,00 ONE members who took action through our Invest In Agriculture Campaign, which calls on senators to fully-fund President Obama’s request for $1.36 billion in global agricultural development funding.

Those 30,000 messages poured in during just a few days, as ONE members went all out over the July 4th holiday weekend to convince their senators to tackle the root causes of hunger, at a time when this most basic form of poverty and suffering is on the rise. In fact, the number of hungry people in the world passed the 1 billion mark this year.

Reacting to the urgency of the humanitarian crisis and buoyed by such strong backing from so many of you, nine of us, including myself, made the trek over to visit 99 Senators offices on a hot summer DC morning, knowing that we had an opportunity to make a last minute impact before the final appropriations decisions were made.

In meetings with more than fifteen senate staff members, we hammered home your message that by investing in agriculture, we can not only stop hunger, but help end the instability it causes, as demonstrated by last year’s food price riots in countries across the developing world.

We met with key staff in the offices of Senators Burris, Bayh, Menendez, Murkowski, Reed, Bill Nelson, Voinovich, Shaheen, Pryor, Barasso, Hagan, Cantwell, Inhoffe, Johaans, and Johnson. The reception we got was enthusiastic and universally impressed with the passion and commitment ONE members are showing in speaking out on this important issue.

And the timing of your messages to the Senate could not have been better. We delivered your messages just before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State-Foreign Operations met to deal with the very bill that controls this critical agricultural funding.

This campaign is also poised to have a global impact. When President Obama meets with the other world leaders the second half of this week at the G8 Summit in Italy, one of the central issues on the agenda will be the global response to the scourge of rising food prices and the plummeting agricultural yields in the developing world. If the Senate decides to fully fund President Obama’s request for $1.36 billion in global agricultural development funding, it will set a powerful example for the rest of the world and help build global momentum toward our ultimate goal of ending hunger.

But our work on this important issue isn’t done. The subcommittee has marked up the bill and now it moves to the full Appropriations Committee, so we’re making one last push today to make sure our senators know that as ONE members and constituents we’re counting on them to Invest In Agriculture.

-Tyler Rattray

Yesterday, ONE members delivered 30,000 messages to the Senate just hours before the Appropriations Subcommittee on State-Foreign Operations made critical decisions on anti-poverty programs. Now their bill goes to the full appropriations committee and we’re extending our campaign one more day. That means there are just a few hours left to show our senators that ONE members are still focused on setting a hunger-fighting precedent for the world, and want full-funding for President Obama’s request for $1.36 billion in global agricultural development funding.

Please visit our Invest in Agriculture campaign to send a message below to your senators now and help us hit our goal of 50,000 ONE members calling on the Senate to do everything in its power to tackle the root causes of global hunger.

This action couldn’t be more urgent. Tomorrow—at the same time the Senate Appropriations Committee makes its final decisions on anti-poverty funding—President Obama and other top world leaders will be meeting in Rome for the G8 Summit. If we can convince the Senate to step-up the fight against hunger now, it will put tremendous pressure on other countries to invest in a global effort to end hunger.

The possibility of a new global commitment to ending hunger starts with our senators. They need to hear from us about how important it is to invest in global agriculture and give the world’s poorest people – the vast majority of whom are employed in agriculture—the chance to grow their way out of poverty.

Here in Washington, we’re doing everything we can to back up your campaign by meeting with key staff on the Hill to deliver your message. If you take action to speak on behalf of those who don’t have a voice, we’ll make sure you are heard in these final, critical hours.

-David Lane

By now you’ve probably read our pitch for accountability to be a focus of the G8 summit this week in Italy. ONE is calling for all G8 countries to create clear time tables for making up shortfalls in commitments to the developing world, and to discuss plans for post-Gleneagles commitments. In addition, ONE will be pushing G8 countries to make a robust financial commitment for investment in agriculture in developing countries.

ONE is calling for the G8 to commit to:

• Provide $5 billion extra in 2010 on medium and long-term agricultural initiatives in Africa that support technically sound, accountable, country-led plans, while making provisions for a scale-up to $10 billion annually by 2012, committing to delivering $25 billion over three years. The G8 must work with African-led initiatives such as NEPAD’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) on an effective financing mechanism;
• Provide adequate medium term assistance, such as seeds and fertilizers, and extend small scale credit facilities to prevent a descent into hunger and poverty;
• Increase investment in agricultural infrastructure including electrification, irrigation systems, and transportation infrastructure. Market distorting subsidies and import duties and quotas on goods from African countries should be eliminated;
• Provide more funding for research and training to address the needs of smallholder farmer populations, like that conducted through public private partnerships such as the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) or the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR);
• Increase technical assistance for smallholders so they can better access credit and so that rural land tenure systems can be strengthened.

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy in many developing countries, particularly those in Africa, where it employs two-thirds of the population. Investing in agriculture could help bring smallholder farmers into the productive economy, providing increased incomes and greater food security, particularly in rural areas.

You can read more about our G8 pitch on ONE’s G8 Hot Topic page. Be sure to check back there and here on the blog for further coverage of the G8 meetings, which begin this Wednesday in L’Aquila, Italy.

-Beth Adler

The Senate vote on the State-Foreign Operations appropriations bill has been bumped up to THIS WEEK, leaving us only 24 hours to collect signatures on our petition asking the Senate to fully fund President Obama’s request for $1.36 billion for global agriculture.

Sign the petition now, here. And don’t forget to share it with your friends.

The number of hungry people in the world is increasing, from 915 million in 2008 to 1 billion in 2009. Last year, more than 140,000 ONE members called on the G8 to take emergency action to combat the global hunger crisis and to invest in agriculture. The U.S. and other G8 nations responded with emergency aid and now, President Obama is seeking longer-term solutions to help the world’s poorest people grow more food and stop the spread of hunger.

Increased funding for smart, sustainable agricultural solutions will be critical to preventing another food crisis. Right now, that’s up to our senators — and they’re not going to take action unless we let them know it’s important to us.

We’ll be delivering your signatures on this petition today and tomorrow. That gives you just 24 hours to take action and tell your friends to sign, as well.

If we can convince the Senate to increase funding for agriculture, that will generate tremendous pressure on world leaders to make similar life-saving investments when they gather for the G8 Summit in Italy next week. We can’t afford to miss this opportunity.

-Emily Stivers

AllAfrica.com reports on a situation in Ethiopia that’s threatening crop production this year. Due to the late start of Ethiopia’s wet season, and the unreliability of the rains, the number of those in need of aid could increase.

Excerpts below, full piece here

“The rainy season will start late particularly in the northeastern part of our country,” Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told reporters at his office on 24 June. “That means the cropping season for some types of crops may not be appropriate this year.”

Ethiopia produces 90-95 percent of its total cereal output during the main rainy season, called ‘meher’, which runs from June to October.

According to the US Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fews Net), the ‘meher’ crop season is likely to experience below normal rains. The ‘belg’ (early rains, February-June) season, which normally accounts for 5-10 percent of total cereal output, has also been unpredictable.

-Chris Scott

Roger Thurow has been a Wall Street Journal foreign correspondent for twenty years and has reported from more than sixty countries, including two dozen in Africa. His new book Enough: Why the World’s Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty, co- authored with Scott Kilman, hit bookshelves this week.

When it comes to world hunger, it’s time to say, “Enough is enough!”

Several weeks ago I had the honor and great pleasure of addressing the ONE leadership retreat and presenting a preview of my book ENOUGH: WHY THE WORLD’S POOREST STARVE IN AN AGE OF PLENTY. This week ENOUGH hit the sturdy shelves of the bookstores and the virtual shelves at amazon.com.

In the days in between, the United Nations’ food agencies confirmed what we all feared: global hunger is getting worse. The number of chronically hungry people is soaring past 1 billion – the highest number since before the Green Revolution in the 1970s and an increase of more than 11% from just last year. And for the first time in nearly 40 years, the prevalence of hunger is climbing; 15% of the world’s population is now hungry, up from 13% in the middle of this decade.

So ENOUGH, which I wrote with my Wall Street Journal colleague Scott Kilman, is more timely than ever. During the writing, we held fast to an abiding mantra: outrage and inspire, outrage and inspire. We hope that is indeed what our book does:

Outrage, that we have brought hunger with us into the 21st century in ever-increasing numbers.

Inspire, that hunger can be conquered. A mighty grassroots movement founded on a new will to end hunger is rising.

ONE is a vital leader of that movement. We hope that ENOUGH will fuel the outrage and the inspiration to continuing shouting loudly, “Enough is enough.”

-Roger Thurow