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AUGUST 2023
Ukraine and Beyond: Feed the Future’s Dedication to Food Security
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to pull out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July was a stark reminder of Russia’s use of food as a weapon, as the initiative helped ensure Ukraine could ship grains and oilseeds directly to countries around the world, including some of the world’s most food-insecure countries. It also supported Ukraine’s economy and the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Ukrainian farmers. Eighty percent of the World Food Program’s wheat deployed around the world to places like Somalia, Northern Kenya, Ethiopia and elsewhere has come via the Black Sea Grain Initiative from January 2023 to July 2023, and may face increased costs for food aid from other sources.
The U.S. government’s resolve to end hunger is unwavering. Since its inception, Feed the Future investments have unlocked over $6.2 billion in agricultural financing, leveraged more than $3.3 billion in private-sector investment in food security, and generated more than $21.5 billion in agricultural sales for smallholder farmers. We remain committed to breaking the cycle of poverty, hunger and malnutrition in the world’s most vulnerable communities and supporting our partner countries as they build more resilient food systems in the face of global shocks.
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 The Importance of Evidence for Building Resilience
With climate and other shocks becoming more frequent, severe and overlapping, there is an urgency to getting smarter, faster in terms of knowing what works when it comes to building resilience. Feed the Future Deputy Coordinator for Development and USAID Global Food Crisis Coordinator Dina Esposito’s latest blog looks at the vital role of collecting and sharing evidence when it comes to resilience programming and interventions.
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MCC Brings Renewable Power to Benin
Nearly two-thirds of Benin’s population of 14.2 million does not have electricity, but thanks to Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) Benin Energy Compact, many have electricity in their homes for the first time. MCC is supporting sector reforms and investing in public-private partnerships, giving private companies the confidence to invest in renewable power systems to unserved areas. In Benin, MCC recognized that renewable power is an opportunity to increase economic growth and reduce poverty while tackling climate change.
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The Need for Women’s Empowerment in Market Systems
Feed the Future’s Advancing Women’s Empowerment closeout event highlighted different perspectives on why women’s empowerment within market systems is crucial and how to integrate women’s empowerment into market systems development. It also provided recommendations to the private sector on how to co-create and include women in market systems design and activities.
Promoting Safe and Nutritious Foods in Nepal
Food safety is a relatively new concept in Nepal, where there are no strict policy regulations set by the government when it comes to food production. To spread and socialize the concept of safe and nutritious food, the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Safety is funding a program in the country that aims to stimulate a rapid increase in access to nutritious produce by identifying the factors that will drive the supply and demand of safer salad vegetables.
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Investing in Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture and Food Systems
Women are disproportionately impacted by climate change, including smallholder farmers who are bearing the brunt of longer droughts, more irregular rains and extreme weather. To help address gender issues in food security, USAID, other governments and the CGIAR are encouraging partners to develop gender-focused Innovation Sprints under the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate and invest in the effort to make the changes required to empower women and end global hunger.
USAID at the Africa Food Systems Forum 2023
USAID, including Deputy Assistant Administrator Isobel Coleman, will join international partners at the Africa Food Systems Forum, taking place in Dar es Salam, Tanzania, from Sept. 5-8, to advance the conversation on how to build back better food systems in Africa with youth and women at the center of the work. In addition to the main forum, USAID will be leading a side event focused on climate-smart agriculture and women.
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Feed the Future is the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative.
Photo Credit: Vlad Sodal, USAID
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