Agriculture Appropriations

Fulfilling the President's commitment to double U.S. assistance for agriculture in the developing world, first articulated at this year's G20 meetings, depends on the U.S. Congress' funding for the President's Food Security Initiative.  The President requested that Congress fund the Initiative at $1.36 billion for fiscal year 2010.

Administration officials have promised to design and implement a comprehensive global food security strategy, proposed in the President's FY2010 Budget and articulated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.  The strategy will guide increased investments in agriculture in the developing world, and will focus on increasing rural agricultural productivity.  Secretaries Clinton and Vilsack have gathered a team to outline the initiative which will be guided by seven principles outlined by Secretary Clinton this June:

• Increase agricultural productivity by improving access to quality seeds, fertilizers, irrigation, tools, and credit, and train farmers to use these inputs effectively.
• Stimulate the private sector by improving storage and food processing facilities, rural roads and transportation, and other infrastructure that enables farmers to get their products to market.
• Maintain natural resources so farmland remains productive in the future, including helping countries to adapt to climate change.
• Expand knowledge by investing in research and development, as well as training, cultivating the next generation of plant scientists.
• Facilitate increased trade to help farmers to sell crops domestically and internationally.
• Support policy reform and good governance which will help agriculture flourish.
• Support women and families, as 70% of the world's farmers are women who are, to this point, largely neglected by agricultural programming.

Guidance is being sought from experts across fields, following through on Secretary Clinton's commitment that agricultural development will not come from a "one-size-fits-all" approach.

Of the $1.36 billion proposed for food security, much of the funding will be used for programs in 25 countries and 8 regions.  In Africa this includes Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, and Eastern and Southern Africa.  Other countries in Africa benefiting from this initiative will be Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.

In the House of Representatives, the President's Food security Initiative is being funded at approximately $1 billion, meaning some of the initiative's targets of economic prosperity and poverty reduction in poor countries will not be fulfilled.  The Senate recently completed the appropriations process, and funded the Food Security Initiative at $1.2 billion, just shy of the President's $1.36 billion request.

ONE has joined with many other organizations in advocating for this sustainable solution to end hunger, increase agricultural productivity, and provide economic opportunities for the world's poorest.  One billion people live with chronic hunger and poor nutrition contributes to half of all child deaths in developing countries.  We can help people feed themselves and provide increased economic opportunity; the challenge is if we will.