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JANUARY 2024
Meeting today's food security needs while building a more resilient future
Conflict, climate change, the enduring impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and more continue to contribute to unprecedented global food insecurity. On top of that, the global demand for food is expected to jump by 50 percent over the next two-and-a-half decades. At the same time, farmers are struggling to keep up as they face a changing climate that is driving or exacerbating prolonged droughts, catastrophic storms, wildfires and floods.
Since Feed the Future’s inception in 2011, the U.S. government has provided over $23 billion to Feed the Future countries and our mission to end the cycle of poverty, hunger and malnutrition is more important than ever. These investments helped farmers and farms generate more than $28 billion in agricultural sales; unlocked more than $6.2 billion in agricultural financing; and leveraged more than $3.3 billion in private sector investment for food security and nutrition. In the countries where Feed the Future works, we see stronger food systems, better nutrition and more resilience to shocks, but we’re not only focused on responding to today’s global food security crisis, Feed the Future is also preparing for those yet to come.
As different groups face different aspects of these challenges, Feed the Future and its partners are developing and implementing a range of innovations alongside local researchers and communities. Read on to learn more about how Feed the Future is empowering women, youth, rural communities and small and medium agribusinesses in its fight against global hunger in 2024.
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 Taking Action for Women in Agrifood Systems
Feed the Future Deputy Coordinator for Development Dina Esposito writes about how the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is increasing its investments in gender equity and women’s empowerment throughout its food and water programs. These investments aim to help address barriers keeping women from achieving their full potential.
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New Feed the Future Rural Financial Inclusion Program in Guatemala
The financial inclusion program will support the new Guatemalan administration’s goal of increasing employment and improving living conditions in rural areas. The project also will empower micro, small, and medium enterprises and farmers to access and manage credit, a valuable resource to help them increase their incomes and food production, and adopt climate-smart agricultural practices for greater resilience to shocks.
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Feed the Future Interagency Partners in 2023
From helping Ukraine’s economy return to growth to mobilizing private-sector investment to reduce poverty around the world to implementing on-the-ground agriculture projects and programs and more, Feed the Future’s interagency partners made strides in Feed the Future’s mission last year. Catch up with Feed the Future’s interagency partners’ 2023 reviews, including USAID, Millennium Challenge Corporation, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Engaging Young Kenyans in Agribusiness
Kenya has one of the world’s youngest populations, but many of these young people cannot find employment. While agriculture is the backbone of the economy, most young Kenyans don’t see agriculture as a viable livelihood. To connect the two and show how agriculture can be a viable livelihood, Feed the Future is helping young Kenyans access the tools and resources they need to tap into and succeed.
Potatoes, Pesticides and Social Constructs in Honduras
Can a simple agronomic device save Honduras’ potato crops from pests and disease, which have attacked production over the past decade? Researchers from the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Current & Emerging Threat to Crops and CGIAR are hoping to answer this question by working with local farmers to design and promote a tool that regulates pesticides for the Honduran mainstay crop.
AID-I Helping Get Certified Seeds into the Hands of Zambian Farmers
In Zambia, smallholder farmers obtain their seed from a variety of sources. To help ensure that these seeds are high quality and certified, the Feed the Future Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative (AID-I) is working with local private-sector partners to help farmers transition to new, high-yielding legume varieties.
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Feed the Future is the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative.
Photo Credits: Laura Davis, Peace Corps Nepal and Melissa Cooperman, IFPRI
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