This week, ONE, with partners ActionAid, Alliance to End Hunger, Women Thrive and others, hosted a reception on Capitol Hill to celebrate the recent successes of US investments in agriculture to strengthen global food security.

Following the Chicago Council’s Annual Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security, the reception was a huge success. It brought together Congress, the Administration, civil society and agriculture researchers to raise the profile of the multilateral Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), and bring recognition to the great work that the US government and our partners have been doing to help improve the lot of small-scale farmers in Africa.

We were honored to have leading anti-hunger advocate Ambassador Tony Hall emcee the event. There were also keynote addresses made by Samuel Gatembeyi, a small-scale farmer from Rwanda, assistant secretary of international markets and development at the US Department of the Treasury Marisa Lago, and Julie Howard, deputy coordinator of Feed the Future.

Despite a busy voting schedule last night, the event was attended by six members of Congress, including a host committee made up of Representatives Frank Wolf, Jim McGovern, Betty McCollum, and Jo Ann Emerson:

During the event’s keynote speeches, Rwanda was a country on people’s tongues. Attendees had the rare opportunity to hear directly from small-scale farmer Samuel Gatembeyi. Samuel leads a group of farmers in the village of Kavumu, Rwanda, and he told the story of how his life changed as a result of an agriculture program.

For the longest time, he was unable to grow anything on his hilly land, but now he, his family and his community are benefiting from a Government of Rwanda initiative to address soil erosion by making terraces in the hillside and using better farming techniques. Thanks to the US and other donors, the soil erosion project will be scaled up by the multilateral GAFSP in partnership with USAID and the Government of Rwanda, so that more of Samuel’s countrymen can learn to farm better and feed their families on a reliable basis.

When it was her turn to speak, Julie Howard made clear that Samuel’s story was not by chance. Rwanda was the first country to complete their CAADP national agricultural investment plan and the first country to work together with the US government and finish a plan for how the US should best spend its Feed the Future resources to help Rwandan become food secure.

Assistant Secretary Marisa Lago pointed out some of the more technical aspects of GAFSP that make it such a great investment –- its transparency, its strict monitoring and evaluation, and its inclusion of host governments like Rwanda in its decision-making process. The US government has committed to making a $100 million contribution to the fund this year, bringing it to one-third of what it promised at the fund’s inception.

It’s so important to reinforce what our champions are doing on Capitol Hill. The entire federal budget is under fire, and so few people realize that aid is less than 1 percent of the budget. Let’s not let them forget that we support their brave and honorable efforts. Let’s not let them forget that we support their brave and honorable efforts.

In January, I wrote a blog post on the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. In the post, I argued that the world has started to notice Africa’s huge economic growth potential.

The International Monetary Fund has now delivered a further upbeat assessment of Africa’s growth potential in its 2011 World Economic Outlook Report published earlier this month. The report states that after having grown by only 2.8 percent in 2009 and 5 percent in 2010, sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) economies are expected to grow by 5.5 percent in 2011 and 5.9 percent in 2012.

The report goes on to say that in a regional ranking, SSA comes second only to Asia. SSA’s economic growth is projected to be higher than Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States.

The Human Development Reports, as well as other studies, have shown that economic growth is a major driver of poverty reduction. For this reason, the WEO report’s predicted growth rate is certainly good news for poverty reduction in SSA — but only if the predicted economic growth is inclusive of the poorest people.

Complicated as it may sound economic growth doesn’t always lead to a reduction in poverty levels, particularly if it based on non-labor intensive employment sectors such as natural resource exports. For the poorest in society to benefit from a country’s economic growth there needs to be improved employment opportunities and, for example, investment in health care and other social protection programs that benefit the most marginalized communities.

The WEO report’s predicted higher growth rate for SSA can be thought of as a stepping stone to achieving greater outside investment in Africa — which in turn, can drive even faster growth within the continent. The WEO report’s higher growth rate predictions informs businesses who hadn’t been investing in Africa that they are missing out on huge opportunities.

ONE hopes this kind of exposure will lead to increases in investment and that businesses will work with African partners and governments to ensure that it is done in a sustainable and inclusive way. This is something that is very important for poverty reduction.

The potential of improved economic growth to reduce poverty in Africa will be discussed at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town during May 4 to 6th. The event provides an opportunity for many business leaders to discuss the region’s potential and increase their knowledge. ONE will be attending, so watch out for blogs from the summit in the coming weeks.

We’re kind of in love with this: researchers at the University of Illinois have come up with a way to teach sustainable development education to those in Africa, despite literacy or language barriers. Using two minute animated clips that can be sent and downloaded via cell phone, these videos depict animated characters demonstrating how to do various agricultural tasks. The videos cover a range of topics, from teaching viewers in Haiti (in light of recent cholera spikes) how to make water safe for drinking and cooking to how a farmer in Nigeria can protect his crops from insects.

As University of Illinois professor and development member Barry Pittendrigh says, “This is a very different paradigm from some other current development projects, where US-based educators are flown to another part of the world, interact with people in the field for a few weeks to several months, and leave. From a financial perspective, this is a much cheaper way to do international development.” Cheaper, no language barriers involved, and widely accessible? Sounds good to us!

Big thanks to ONE friend Jaclyn Schiff for sharing this with us!

For the first time in history, Africa held its first All Africa Energy Week in Maputo, Mozambique last week. The African Union, the African Development Bank and the United Economic Commission for Africa joined forces to launch the conference, which focused on clean energy for sustainable development.

The fact that this event even happened shows tremendous progress. Electricity poverty is a huge problem in Africa, despite the fact that the continent has huge reserves of cheap fuels like coal and natural gas. Almost two-thirds of Africans do not have access to electricity, an unfortunate circumstance that impedes economic growth, slows down businesses and productivity and keeps the cycle of extreme poverty going ’round and ’round.

The solution? Amp up efforts to create a low-carbon infrastructure and encourage public-private partnerships to tap into Africa’s energy potential. Think strategically, using energy policy and regulations to help bridge the gap in the energy infrastructure. Consider biofuels, solar energy and hydropower.

Having a regular and affordable source of electricity can increase wealth and boost productivity. And investing a strong energy infrastructure can create jobs and attract investments. Either way, Africa’s energy sector is a priority and can help eradicate poverty for millions of Africans. In fact, it’s such a priority that it has made its way onto the agenda of this year’s G20 Summit in Seoul for the first time.

Concentrating on Africa’s energy sector is the right step in the right direction, and it’s great to see that African organizations are working to coordinate their efforts while staying environmentally conscious. Learn more about All Africa Energy Week on their website.

Next week, delegates from more than 130 countries will converge in Bangkok, Thailand to participate in the world’s largest anti-corruption meeting, the 14th annual International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC).

According to Andrew Marshall’s Time Magazine article “How Corruption Is Holding Asia Back,” corruption is a problem that affects dozens of countries across the world — not just developing nations — and has been met with increasing apathy and acceptance from both world leaders and citizens.

What is most alarming, says Mr. Marshall, is that corruption creates an environment in which dishonesty can thrive even further. Last year’s Transparency International report said that the most common source of bribe demands is the police. And in sub-Saharan Africa, corruption is one of the region’s major barriers to ending extreme poverty. In fact, Africa loses around $148 billion each year as a result of corruption alone.

As you can see, “corruption is everyone’s problem — and apathy is no longer an option,” says Mr. Marshall.

We couldn’t agree more. It’s our duty as advocates to make sure that people know that corruption hurts — not helps — the fight against poverty. We’re curious to see what comes out of this year’s IACC meeting and hope that the delegation makes some headway in this growing issue.

News coverage of the African continent can sometimes neglect the vast political, economic and cultural diversity of its many people and nations. But NPR’s recent radio piece on Somaliland serves as a breath of fresh air.

Situated in the Horn of Africa in a region made famous for chronic war and militant groups, Somaliland is breaking the mold and proving that “relative political and civil stability” is possible.

According to NPR, Somaliland just recently held a small-scale trade fair aimed at showcasing its products in order to attract foreign investment and improve its trade relationship with the international community. Emerging from civil war, the developing success story is even gaining attention from Washington for its unconventional levels of stability and security. To support flourishing cases like that of Somaliland, Johnnie Carson, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, has indicated that the United States is planning to send more diplomats to Somaliland and increase its modest level of aid.

This year’s report looks at biofuels, cereals, oilseeds, sugar, meats, and dairy products from 2010 to 2019. Sounds delicious, right?

Well, for most people, it won’t be. Right now, there are more people that are hungry than ever before — 1.02 billion people. That’s one out of every 6 people on the planet. These people who battle extreme poverty every day also spend a large majority of their meager incomes on food. And most of these people are farmers who actually need to buy more food than they produce to survive.

So, when food prices rise –- as they did so dramatically in 2008 –- poor people run out of money to buy enough nutritious food to lead healthy lives. Or maybe they make different choices (like eating less or taking a child out of school) to help earn money for the family, or sell off assets such as cows and chickens -– which have deteriorating consequences for decades to come.

But before we think about what the long-term picture might look like, let’s consider what’s happening right now. Even as the world climbs out of the greatest economic recession since the 1930s, and global food prices have come down, they are still higher than they were a few years ago -– about 15 to 40 percent higher than the 1997 to 2006 average.

They are also expected to stay high and volatile for the next ten years. This means that even though the world is projected to produce enough food to meet rising demand -– from converting crops into biofuels to increasing consumption of meat and dairy products (which require a lot of grains to produce) — they won’t necessarily be able to afford it unless their incomes increase. Basically, poor people will continue to remain food insecure.

Not to mention any major disruption in financial markets — the onset of another major natural disaster or other shocks to the system could cause prices to spike again and push more people into poverty.

Yet all is not forlorn. The Agricultural Outlook has some good and bad news. The good news is that most of the growth in agriculture from production, consumption and trade over the next decade will come from developing countries -– especially in Brazil, India and China.

This is great if you are someone in an emerging economy that has the means to take advantage of these market opportunities. But what if you don’t have those resources? Or you live in sub-Saharan Africa, a region that is not expected to be able to meet its own demand for food under these scenarios? Or what if your community is badly affected by climate change and faces increased droughts, floods or unpredictable rainfall? Then, the picture might not be so pretty.

Looking forward, the report highlights the need to invest in agriculture in order to build the capacities of poor people in developing countries to grow more food more sustainably, especially sub-Saharan Africa. Building the resilience of farmers everywhere to erratic swings in the market and providing access to financial tools to hedge risk are other options.

Other recommendations include smartly developing emergency food stock supplies and responses to food emergencies, and for developed countries to reduce trade-distorting agricultural subsidies. While the numbers might be hard to digest, these projections should not be overlooked. They tell us we are not through the thicket. Coordinated and sustained efforts to improving sustainable and equitable growth in agriculture is essential to tackling extreme poverty and hunger in our lifetimes, if not maybe halving it by 2015.

AIDS patients hurt by South African strike – Doctors and activists say AIDS patients aren’t getting treated because of a nationwide civil service strike in South Africa, due to fears of getting caught in violence and miscommunication over whether government hospitals are open. (Donna Bryson, AP)

Mobile HIV Test Unit a Hit – A mobile HIV test unit in the Congo is proving successful in encouraging citizens to get tested for HIV. However, while more than 5,000 have been tested since late 2009, the care services for those who test positive are proving unsatisfactory, including access to drugs. (Arsène Séverin, IPS)

How Africa can become the next BRIC – Economist Jim O’Neill argues that South Africa is poised to be the first African member of the BRIC group of rising powers – Brazil, Russia, India and China – as long as they maintain a focus on transparency and strive to foster a healthy business environment. (Financial Times)

Investing in Africa is not for the faint-hearted’, says equity firm CEO – An expert of West Africa’s emerging markets, Ngozi Edozien argues that proximity – and not “briefcase investing” – is the key to success for investors looking to tap into Africa’s up-and-coming economies. (David McKenzie, CNN)

Green revolution possible in Africa with helps, says professor – Professor and agronomy expert, Gebisa Ejeta says that a green revolution in Africa is possible but only with considerable external assistance in overcoming obstacles such as lack of education and infrastructure. (Liezl Vercueil, Mail & Guardian)