Check out this post from our partner organization Bread for the World. This post—talking about the need for more (and better) funding for agricultural development—is part of our Food Security in Focus series.

I’m a vegetarian. So I wasn’t sure how to respond when my host Yemiama offered me chickens as a gift for visiting him in southeastern Burkina Faso. I reluctantly took the chickens with many “thank yous.” Later, as I climbed into our truck, my colleagues joked that the birds would never make it through U.S. Customs.

Recently, I visited Burkina Faso as a guest of the Ministry of Agriculture on a project supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). While there, I talked with farmers about how they are coping in the midst of a global food and financial crisis. Predictably, they are struggling.

But the government in Burkina Faso is trying. With the support of IFAD, they are working to improve agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods. In Kompiengbiga, they have built irrigation schemes, increased organic fertilizer use and taught farmers business skills. Burkinabè farmers have benefited from these efforts. Even in my short visit, I was impressed that they are willing to take risks and adopt new technologies if they are given the chance.

Unfortunately, far too few farmers are getting the support they need. Currently, only four cents of every dollar of Official Development Assistance supports agricultural development. That’s down from 17 cents of every dollar in the 1980s.

How did we get to a point where we failed to anticipate needs in an area as critical as agriculture? Part of the answer is donor policies are poorly aligned with needs in developing countries. This must change.

Creating more responsive foreign assistance that alleviates hunger and poverty is sorely needed. Right now Bread for the World members are urging their Senators to support S.1524, “The Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act.” This bill will strengthen the capacity, transparency, and accountability of U.S. foreign assistance—and is a critical step toward helping farmers like Yemiama. Click here to learn more about S. 1524.

-Eric Muñoz, International Hunger and Nutrition Policy Analyst, Bread for the World Institute

“The issues that we face today- from chronic poverty and hunger to violent acts of terrorism- require that we work seamlessly toward identifiable goals.” Senator Richard Lugar opened with a strong statement on the importance of aid reform yesterday at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations that I attended called The Case for Reform: Foreign Aid and Development in a New Era. Witnesses at the hearing included Peter McPherson, President of Public and Land Grant Universities and former administrator of USAID, Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Rev. David Beckmann, President of ONE partner organization, Bread for the World and Co-Chair of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network.

The hearing highlighted a bill written by Senators Kerry, Corker, Menendez and Lugar that seeks to strengthen USAID and thereby strengthen the effectiveness of U.S. foreign assistance. The bill has three main facets:

• To strengthen the monitoring and evaluation program of USAID by creating an “internal evaluation and knowledge center” and reinforce the partnership between USAID and the State Department to make sound decisions relating to development.
• To coordinate all U.S. agencies that have a role in foreign assistance by promoting information sharing and appointing a Mission Director at USAID to coordinate all development and humanitarian assistance within all countries where the U.S. works.
• To create a high-level task force at USAID and increase training within USAID and other U.S. development programs to alleviate the disorganization that has arisen with increased funding and decreased staffing at USAID.

McPherson, Sachs and Beckmann spoke very highly of this bill and were in agreement with the idea that the U.S. must increase their capacity in foreign assistance through higher level leadership and monitoring and evaluation. If these steps are taken, USAID will become an effective long-term development agency rather than the short-term disaster relief organization, which it has evolved to in recent years according to Senator Kerry.

Jeffrey Sachs had many strong words of advice to the United States development community. He stated that the framework of development assistance should focus on agriculture, healthcare, education, infrastructure, small business development and climate change, emphasizing that progress on these issues will promote resources which would in turn reestablish law and order in countries like Kenya where it is lacking.

Rev. Beckmann mentioned that the American people value aid reform and increased resources to developing countries, even in hard economic times. He praised ONE along with other NGOs for reaching out to members to voice these opinions and encourage their representatives to support initiatives such as the Water for the World Act and the Global Food Security Act.

- Leah Moriarty

For the July edition of their monthly podcast—or “Breadcast”—Bread for the World features an interview with Roger Thurow. Roger, whom we’ve written about in the past, is a reporter with the Wall Street Journal and co-author of the great new book Enough: Why the World’s Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty.

The interview (which you can find at the 9 minute mark) touches on the fight against extreme poverty and the role that faith has and can continue to have on our ability to end poverty in our time. Also be sure to listen for a shout-out to ONE and Bono in the broadcast.

You can listen to the interview here.

Read more about Enough here.

-Chris Scott

Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA-28), lead sponsor (along with Rep. Mark Kirk, R-IL-10, not pictured) of HR 2139 addresses Bread for the World members at a morning briefing.

“Law doesn’t happen by accident.” These were the words of Diana Ohlbaum, Senior Staff of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs as she addressed participants at Bread for the World’s Gathering 2009. To make laws fair and compassionate for hungry people, we have to make our voices heard in congress.

So, Bread for the World members from across the country spoke out powerfully on Capitol Hill Tuesday as a part of our annual Lobby Day. Bread members from 38 states held meetings with more than 181 Congressional offices.

Our message: it is time to reform U.S. foreign assistance to make it more effective in reducing hunger and poverty. Specifically, we asked our house members to co-sponsor HR 2139, the “Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009.”

Even if you weren’t able to make it to DC to advocate with us, you can be a part of the action too by calling your House member and urging their co-sponsorship. You can use Bread’s special number to be connected directly to the Capitol switchboard at (800)826-3688.

Bread also honored five Members of Congress for their consistent leadership on issues that affect hungry and poor people. Lobby Day Awards went to Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC-6), Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY-18), and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA-10).

But remember, fair laws don’t happen by accident. Speak out today to make foreign aid more effective.

-Jennifer Coulter Stapleton, Bread for the World Communications

Photo by Bread for the World/Rick Reinhard

According to The Hill, Monica Mills of Bread for the World is one of Washington’s top grassroots lobbyists. The article notes that Monica “is an effective advocate on Capitol Hill for anti-hunger programs.” The Hill story goes on to report that “the trick is to combine an activated grassroots network with representatives in Washington who can personally explain to members and their staff the real-world consequences of legislation.”

Monica leads the Government Relations team at Bread. Right now, they are all working overtime to prepare for Bread’s Gathering 2009 and the June 16 Lobby Day.

-Mark Brinkmoeller

Bread for the World’s 2009 Offering of Letters is focused on reforming U.S. foreign assistance to make it more effective in reducing hunger and poverty. Recently, a bipartisan bill was introduced in the House Foreign Affairs Committee to start this process of reform.

The historic bill, H.R. 2139 or the “Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009,”
directs the president to develop and implement a comprehensive national strategy to further the U.S. foreign policy objective of promoting global development.

This is the best chance we have this year to reform U.S. foreign aid. We need as many Republicans and Democrats to cosponsor this historic bill. It will demonstrate that there is broad support in Congress for U.S. foreign aid reform to make it more effective in reducing hunger and poverty.

We have a limited window of opportunity get cosponsors for the bill. Call your representative now to cosponsor H.R. 2139. You can use Bread for the World’s special hot line to Congress: 1-800-826-3688. Tell your representative to cosponsor H.R. 2139 and reform foreign aid and make it more effective in reducing hunger and poverty.

Listen to Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, as he speaks about the need to reform U.S. foreign aid.

To make an even greater impact, come to Washington, DC this summer and talk personally with your members of Congress about reforming U.S. foreign assistance. You can do that by attending Bread for the World’s Gathering 2009.

Join hundreds of anti-hunger and anti-poverty advocates from across the country from June 14 to 16 at American University. We’ll hear from experts like Andrew Natsios, former administrator of USAID; the Wall Street Journal’s Roger Thurow; and María Otero, president of ACCION International (a leading global microfinance institution.)

I hope to see you there!

-Jennifer Stapleton, Bread for the World Communications

During this C-Span interview, Rev. David Beckmann talks about the need to reform U.S. foreign aid. A more efficient foreign assistance system-with better coordination, better accountability, better clarity-will ensure that people get help faster and more effectively.

The process started with the submission of a new bill in Congress, HR 2139, the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009. Beckmann is president of Bread for the World and co-chair of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network.

-Adlai Amor, Director of Communications, Bread for the World

It’s conference season in our nation’s capital! Several of ONE’s partners are hosting national conferences, trainings and advocacy workshops for poverty-fighting activists like you! Check out the list below and sign up to attend!

• April 21-22: Save the Children’s Advocacy Day 2009
• April 26-29: Sojourner’s Mobilization to End Poverty
• May 5-6: CARE’s National Conference and Celebration
• May 26-30: Global Health Council’s 36th Annual International Conference on Global Health
• June 14-16: Bread for the World’s Gathering: Rejoice. Hope. Act.
• June 20-23: RESULTS’ International Conference: Empowering People to End Poverty

–Margaret McDonnell, US NGO Partnerships and Faith Relations Team, ONE

This weekend I joined others in the area concerned about hunger at the Bread for the World workshop held at the Saint Louis Catholic Church in Miami, Florida. The Bread organizer, Greg Sims gave me the opportunity to talk about ONE and our local efforts to advocate for increased foreign assistance and effective programs that will help those who need it the most.

With new faces and energy in Washington, D.C. we know that now is the time for Congress to take action. This year, Bread for the World’s offering of letters is urging Congress to rework U.S. foreign assistance to make it more effective in reducing poverty. At the end of the workshop we all took a few minutes to write personal letters to Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL-18)to ask for her help to make poverty reduction a primary goal of foreign assistance. ONE member Alix Gordon will be hand-delivering the letters to the Congresswoman’s district office later this week.

I am so glad we had the chance to participate in the workshop and am encouraged by the number of organizations and individuals on the ground here in Florida that are working together to advocate for policies that will help people lift themselves out of hunger and poverty.

-Sara Paterni, ONE Field Organizer

Check out this great post from our friends at Bread for the World!

-Rosie

Foreign aid works. Watch this video from Bread for the World to see how well it works.

It’s changed the lives of Ronald Kegoli, an HIV-positive passion fruit farmer in Kenya, and Nubia Baca, a widowed rancher in Nicaragua.

It doesn’t work as well as it could, though. The U.S. Foreign Assistance Act, passed in 1961, now encompasses 33 different goals, 75 priority areas, and 247 directives. And that’s not all: Foreign aid is executed by at least 12 departments, 25 different agencies, and almost 60 government offices. Take a look; it’ll make your head spin.

But guess what else works? Advocacy. Speaking out to your elected leaders in Congress. If you contact them, they listen.

Bread for the World’s Offering of Letters 2009 is urging Congress to rework U.S. foreign assistance to make it more effective in reducing poverty. We have the tools to help you educate yourself on this topic and be a strong advocate as you speak out for hungry and poor people. Visit www.bread.org/OL2009 to learn more.

This is our chance to make something our nation has been doing well even better. Help us flood congressional offices with letters. Make yourself heard. Change lives.

It really is that simple.

-Kimberly Burge, Bread for the World