About the Author: Robert D. Hormats serves as Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment.

I recently spoke at the 13th annual Delhi Sustainable Development Summit in New Delhi, India. My remarks focused largely on the importance of creating a good environment for investment in the agricultural sector. I emphasized the particular need to improve food supply chains that connect farmers to markets. Significant additional improvements in food supply chain infrastructure are needed to reduce post-harvest food losses, which are disturbingly high in many parts of the world.

Some important progress already has been made. The Government of India recently took steps to open India’s multi-brand retail sector to encourage foreign direct investment. This investment is critical for India’s overall economic growth prospects as well as the development of India’s food storage and distribution industry. As Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh explained, an organized and efficient… more »

About the Author: David Lane serves as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agencies in Rome.

After an early morning departure from Tanzania, we arrived in the Malawian capital of Lilongwe in a steady rain. The rain is not always favorable for travel, but it was very welcome in Malawi after a drought during the 2012 rainy season impacted the maize crop and food security, particularly in the south. 

As I continued my first media tour as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations food and agriculture agencies in Rome I was excited to have two reporters from Malawi join the group of seven talented reporters traveling with me, five African and two European, to witness programs on the ground and help tell the Malawian story of increasing food security in Africa.

Despite the difficult situation in the south, it is an exciting time to visit Malawi because… more »

About the Author: Jonathan Shrier serves as Acting Special Representative for Global Food Security.

World Food Day is a reminder and call to action for the international community to strengthen efforts to end world hunger and malnutrition.

Today, nearly one billion people suffer from chronic hunger, which means that they do not get enough food to satisfy their body’s basic nutritional needs.

Feed the Future is the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative and works with partner countries to support their own agriculture development objectives to increase agricultural productivity and improve nutrition, which can help reduce poverty and hunger. Seventy-five percent of the world’s poor live in rural areas in developing countries, where most people’s livelihoods rely directly on agriculture, and women in the developing world make up to forty-three percent of the agriculture…more »

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hosts a panel discussion, “Women and Agriculture: A Conversation on Improving Global Food Security,” moderated by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof in New York, New York September 19, 2011.

About the Author: Courtney Beale serves as Acting Spokesperson at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Working in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Hyder Shah Fruit Farm in Sindh has installed Pakistan’s first automated mango processing line on a farm. As a result of this partnership, the farm delivered 150,000 kilograms of processed mangos to the Middle East and earned more than four million rupees in profit.

“I hope my success will encourage other Pakistani mango farmers to complete their infrastructure developments so they can compete in the international mango market,” said Junaid Hyder Shah, owner of Hyder Shah Farm. “I could not have achieved this without USAID support.”

This initiative is part of the U.S. Government’s commitment to help Pakistan improve its economic growth. USAID is helping 15 mango farms in Sindh and Punjab to install processing equipment which will help prepare mangos… more »

About the Author: Ambassador Ertharin Cousin serves as U.S. Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture.

Secure access to and control of land and land-based resources is absolutely critical to agricultural development, economic growth, food security, and women’s economic empowerment. 

The United States has been at the forefront of efforts to improve the governance of land rights and access for several years, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). 

Important strides in land tenure governance were made last week when the Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests met at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome.… more »

About the Author: Melanne Verveer serves as Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues.

The FAO’s 2010-2011 State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) Report, Women in Agriculture: Closing the Gender Gap for Development, revealed some compelling and informative findings about the critical but underutilized role women play in the food and agriculture industry globally. It also gave some convincing reasons for why investing in women agriculturalists — including farmers, fishers and others who work in agri-processing and marketing — is so essential to food security, production, economic development, health, and related issues. In response to the SOFA report, this week at the 37th biennial conference in Rome, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO) mobilized a call to action under the theme: “The Vital Role of Women in Agriculture and Rural Development” to spur multilateral support for investing in women in agriculture and strengthening the… more »

About the Author: Ann Stock serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The U.S. Department of State’s Office of International Visitors, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs is conducting a three-week Multi-Regional Project (MRP) entitled “Women and Entrepreneurship” for a dynamic group of 19 women entrepreneurs and small business owners from around the world. Administered by Phelps Stokes, the group is exploring the contributions of women to the development of the U.S. economy and ways the participation of women in the global economy.

After a week in Washington, DC where the group met with federal government agencies as well as private businesses and women’s business organizations, the group divided into three teams to visit either Minneapolis, Minnesota; Albany, New York; or Cincinnati, Ohio. Each team explored global business partnerships… more »

About the Author: Julie A. Howard serves as U.S. Deputy Coordinator for Development for Feed the Future.

Today, I have the privilege to participate in a discussion as part of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ Symposium on “Global Agriculture and Food Security: Progress to Date and Strategies for Success.” The Chicago Council’s efforts have been instrumental in elevating global food security as a U.S. policy priority. We are grateful to them for the opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made so far and remaining challenges we all face in tackling this issue.

At a time when food prices are reaching all-time highs, drawing millions into poverty and undermining global stability, it is critical that we maintain our focus on establishing long-term agriculture-driven economic development.… more »

About the Author: Ambassador Ertharin Cousin serves as U.S. Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture.

Interactive Travel Map | Trip Page

Today in Rome, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke to a prestigious international audience and reminded them, in no uncertain terms, of the United States’ commitment to fighting hunger, malnutrition, and food insecurity around the world.

Secretary Clinton, on the kind invitation of the Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on behalf of the other UN Food Agencies in Rome, addressed an audience of over 400 people, including the distinguished Permanent Representatives to the FAO from its 191 member states, as well as the leadership of the other UN Food Agencies in Rome and guests from… more »