|
Independent research & practical ideas for global prosperity
|
|
|
|
Independent research & practical ideas for global prosperity
|
|
Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Blog
Posts Tagged: Food SecurityObama Updates Development Profile: Ag and Private Sector Now FriendsMay 21, 2012Posted by Sarah Jane Staats in Food Security, Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Tags: Food Security, G-8 Photo: CIAT International Center for Tropical Agriculture / cc; Inset: White House
President Obama announced $3 billion in new private sector investments in agriculture in three African countries at a packed event in Washington, D.C., last Friday. The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition is the cornerstone of the United States’ 2012 G-8 commitments to development led by USAID and administrator Rajiv Shah. There’s a lot to like about the partnership: presidential leadership, a link between public and private investment, and a focus on policy change. But all eyes are on how the relatively modest investments will be implemented and whether they can reach the ambitious poverty reduction targets. Comment »Assessing Feed the Future and U.S. Leadership on Food SecurityApril 27, 2012Posted by Connie Veillette in Feed the Future, Food Security, Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Tags: feed the future, Food Security
A new report from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs applauds U.S. government agencies for food security leadership but calls on them to up the game in the face of rising global challenges and shrinking aid budgets. While it is a positive assessment, the report highlights some areas of concern that could affect U.S. leadership in future years. The report is timely for two reasons. First, it is anticipated that food security will be a topic of discussion at the upcoming G-8 meeting at Camp David. With budget austerity gripping the attention of most international donors, it will be interesting to see if commitments to food security will be maintained and whether outstanding pledges will be filled. Comment »Food Aid Effectiveness Awaits Action on Farm BillApril 24, 2012Posted by Connie Veillette in Aid Effectiveness, Food Security, Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance, USAID Tags: Aid Effectiveness, Food Security, USAID
Congress last week released a draft farm bill that includes some promising fixes to the notoriously inefficient U.S. food aid system. I have written before about the USG’s poorly managed food aid programs, largely based on work from the Government Accountability Office, aid organizations and a number of academics. In light of last week’s draft, I am pleased to announce that we may finally be getting some traction on this issue amongst policymakers on the Hill. First, a little background. P.L. 480, or Food for Peace, is the largest program funded annually at about $1.5 billion on average. Although it is not well understood outside of budget wonk circles, U.S. food aid is part of the international affairs budget but is authorized and appropriated by the agriculture committees. (The House committees have some shared jurisdiction with the foreign affairs committees.) This structure goes back to a time when the United States used international food aid programs to distribute an abundance of surplus crops. 2 Comments »Will It Be Feed the Future or Feed the Now?March 26, 2012Posted by Connie Veillette in Budget, Feed the Future, Food Security, Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Tags: Budget, feed the future, Food Security
The House Budget Committee passed its budget alternative last week that calls for reduced spending for international affairs. The accompanying report gives some details on the cuts the Committee is recommending. Many of the recommendations are ill-advised if the United States is to remain influential in world affairs, such as eliminating the Complex Crisis Fund, zeroing out funds to organizations like the African Development Foundation or Inter-American Foundation, or reducing public diplomacy programs. Comment »A Rose by Any Other Name: Place Your Vote to Rename GAFSPJuly 27, 2011Posted by Connie Veillette in Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Tags: Food Security
I recently challenged readers to take matters into our own hands and rename the unpronounceable and unimaginative GAFSP. GAFSP is the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program at the World Bank to which several countries and the Gates Foundation have pledged contributions. After many good suggestions, I’ve pulled the top four names for a final vote. At stake here is a coveted CGD mug and a reserved front row seat at an upcoming CGD event for the person who submitted the winning acronym. So place your votes, and may the best new moniker win! 3 Comments »G-20 Agriculture Ministers Summit: Everyone Is For Food Security, As Long As It Doesn’t Cost AnythingJune 27, 2011Posted by Kimberly Ann Elliott in Poverty Tags: Food Security, G-20
This is a joint post with Connie Veillette The G20 agriculture ministers seem to agree: they’re all for food security, as long as it doesn’t cost anything. The communiqué from last week’s summit in Paris has lots of nice rhetoric and some good ideas, but no resources to implement them. In some cases, new priorities duplicate other efforts; in others, the ministers overlooked policy options that would have a big impact and cost little – or even save money – as with increased trade access or ending export restrictions and biofuel subsidies. For example, take the proposed new Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) “to improve the quality, reliability, accuracy, timeliness and comparability of data on agricultural markets (production, consumption and stocks);” who could disagree with that? But the UN Food and Agricultural Organization already collates and publishes much of the available data (as well as regularly reporting on the outlook for food and individual commodity markets), and USAID’s Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWSNET) reports on a wide range of conditions that could lead to famine. So is the need really for a new system to do pretty much the same thing or is the need for resources to help developing countries build the capacity to improve local data collection that can then be fed into the FAO system? Read More… Comment »Taking Matters into Our Own Hands – Let’s Rename GAFSPMay 25, 2011Posted by Connie Veillette in Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Tags: Food Security
GAFSP. That’s Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, the fund at the World Bank to which several countries and the Gates Foundation have pledged contributions. G-A-F-S-P…..sounds like Gaspy. As most of my colleagues know, I’m not very good with acronyms. I can’t remember them, nor often decipher them, even though I have sometimes engaged in creating them. Some are great; they convey in shortened form exactly the right message. I happen to think that my moniker for the whole-of-government approach – WoG – does just that. (You will notice that WoG advocates refrain from using it while detractors are delighted with it.) 6 Comments » |
|
|
CENTER FOR GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT
1800 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Third Floor
Washington DC 20036
Tel 202.416.4000 | Fax 202.416.4050
|
|
|
Print
Share
