Food Security & Global Hunger

Food Art

More than one billion people — one sixth of the world's population — suffer from chronic hunger. Without enough food, adults struggle to work and children struggle to learn. Global food supplies must increase by an estimated 50 percent to meet expected demand in the next 20 years. Advancing sustainable agricultural-led growth increases the availability of food, keeps food affordable, and raises the incomes of the poor.

Resources

• Feed the Future (U.S. Government)
• Global Hunger & Food Security (U.S. State Department)
• Food Security (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
• Fact sheet: Feed The Future Initiative
• Fact sheet: Food Prices Crisis of 2007-2008: Lessons Learned
• Fact sheet: International Agricultural Commodity Prices
• Fact sheet: U.S. Government's Feed the Future Initiative Helps Countries Cope with Rising Food Prices

News

10 December 2012 Better Common Bean Production Would Boost Global Food Security  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) December 7 awarded five grants totaling $4.5 million in support of research to improve the production of the common bean, a main staple produced throughout food insecure areas of the world, including East and southern Africa.

26 November 2012 Agricultural Development Gets Doubled U.S. Investment  Through the Feed the Future initiative, U.S. government research investments in global food security more than doubled from $50 million in 2008 to $120 million in 2011, according a report released in October.

06 November 2012 U.S. Envoy at U.N. on Agricultural Development, Food Security

22 October 2012 World Food Prize Laureate Urges Sustainable Food Production   Ensuring efficient and sustainable management of land, water and biotic resources to produce more food while protecting the environment is a challenge to the current generation and to future generations, says 2012 World Food Prize laureate Daniel Hillel.  "Today, farmers using micro-irrigation produce high-yield, nutritious crops on more than 6 million hectares worldwide. Dr. Hillel’s work will become even more important as we grapple with how to feed the world’s growing population," Secretary of State Clinton said at the ceremony.
• World Food Prize Winner Pioneers Dry-Area Irrigation

22 October 2012 George McGovern, Champion in Fight Against Hunger, Dead at 90  The world lost a leader in the war against hunger when George McGovern, a former U.S. senator and presidential candidate, died October 21 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He was 90 years old.
• Statement of the President on the Death of George McGovern

19 October 2012 U.S. Food Program Marks Progress Helping Farmers, Children  The United States’ global food security program Feed the Future has helped 1.8 million food producers adopt improved technologies or management practices that can lead to more resilient crops, higher yields and increased incomes.

19 October 2012 Barley Genome Analysis May Lead to Higher Yields  An international scientific team is mapping the genetic code that makes barley the grain that it is. The work could lead agricultural researchers to higher barley crop yields, greater nutritional value and better pest and disease resistance.  Agricultural science has made significant progress in recent years, using genomics to map food crops such as tomato and corn. But barley was a greater challenge from the outset.

16 October 2012 U.S. Pledges Continued Support for Global Agriculture  The United States will contribute up to $475 million to the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), promising to give $1 for every $2 committed by other donors. “The United States is demonstrating once again its commitment to lead the global fight against hunger and malnutrition,” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner at an event co-hosted by Japan and the World Bank.

10 October 2012 Goal for Reducing World Hunger Reachable, U.N. Reports

27 September 2012 Clinton at Feed the Future Partnership with Civil Society
“Food security is now at the top of our national and foreign policy agendas, as well as that of so many other nations in the world,” Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said.

24 September 2012 World Bank Supports Global Agriculture As Food Prices Spike   The World Bank has increased its support for global agriculture to its highest level in 20 years and has pledged to continue helping countries respond to recent food price hikes, says World Bank President Jim Yong Kim.

19 September 2012 World Food Day Unites People in Fight Against Hunger     Cooperative enterprises that produce and market food bring higher yields, better quality products and greater profits to many farmers than if they worked alone, says the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). To acknowledge the role cooperatives play in the goal of global food security, the FAO has made the theme for World Food Day 2012 "Agricultural cooperatives — key to feeding the world."

20 August 2012 Championing for Change Against Global Hunger Through Feed the Future, we support countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur inclusive economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger and poverty.

17 August 2012 Weather Causes Rise in Food Prices; Research Holds Promise  The G20 worries that the drought will lead some countries to take drastic measures to keep the prices of grains from rising, like placing embargoes on their food exports.

25 June 2012 New Treaty Emerges to Fight Starvation, Malnutrition  A new international treaty to facilitate delivery of food to places beset by famine or malnutrition has emerged from the negotiating room. The Food Assistance Convention was adopted in London and replaced the Food Aid Convention that expired in 2002.

18 April 2012 Boosts in Harvests Can Fight Poverty Says USAID Administrator  Investments in agriculture in developing countries can yield six times more in productivity than investments in manufacturing or services, says the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).   He said agriculture needs to be treated as a business, not solely as a development issue. He pointed to science and technology investment successes USAID has brought to two Asian nations.

13 April 2012 Women Need More Resources to Produce More Food, Expert Says  Global food production could increase 30 percent if women farmers get the same access to resources as men, says U.S. food and agriculture expert Catherine Bertini, a professor of public administration and international affairs at Syracuse University in New York.  More access to credit, land ownership, primary and secondary education, extension services and even mobile phones can help women boost their farm production and family incomes.

05 April 2012 Modern Agricultural Production Continues to Increase Yields  Since the 1980s, large-scale conventional crop farming has increasingly produced higher yields while using less fertilizer and water, and fewer chemical pesticides.  One big factor affecting higher yields was the commercial introduction in 1996 of disease- and insect-resistant seeds improved through biotechnology, also known as genetically modified seeds.

2011

16 October 2011 Secretary Clinton’s Statement on World Food Day  "The United States will continue to provide food aid during these crisis situations, but long-term solutions to food security must be treated with the same sense of urgency. "

13 October 2011 Feed the Future Makes Progress on Food Security   The Feed the Future program to increase agricultural production, raise rural incomes and improve nutrition in developing countries continues to make progress, two top U.S. agricultural development experts say.  Jonathan Shrier of the State Department and Greg Gottlieb of the U.S. Agency for International Development discussed the three-year-old program during a State Department webcast

22 September 2011 Private Sector Joins USAID in Improving Food Security in Africa  The chickpea might be the key to greater agricultural production and improved food security in Ethiopia. A plan to increase chickpea production is being developed to that end by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the World Food Programme and the PepsiCo Foundation.

06 September 2011 Somalia’s Famine-Affected Area Expands   Famine conditions are creeping across southern Somalia, reports an analysis group, with six regions of the country now affected and 750,000 people now facing “imminent starvation.”  While malnutrition and the potential for famine are most serious in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti are also facing severe food shortages. More than 12 million people are estimated to be in need across the four nations.

22 August 2011 Food Insecurity in Eastern Africa Continent's Worst in 20 Years  The worst drought in more than half a century in Eastern Africa has brought on the region’s worst food insecurity in 20 years, according to an assessment of conditions in the region released by the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit–Somalia.  U.S. and international estimates find that more than 12 million people in this region are expected to be affected by the widespread food insecurity.

15 August 2011 Agriculture by the Numbers   This is an update of the article “By the Numbers,” which appeared in the eJournal 21st-Century Agriculture, published in March 2010.

18 July 2011  Global Water Issues - eJournal  Global Water Issues explores the political, social and economic challenges presented by threats to Earth’s most vital natural resource. With a foreword by U.S. Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero, Global Water Issues describes how this ecological emergency affects population centers, human health, climate and food security.

28 June 2011 Hope Grows Among Scientists Trying to Stop Wheat Rust  While the breadbasket of Pakistan and India is threatened by a deadly wheat rust disease, researchers believe they may have discovered strains of wheat that can resist the disease known as “Ug99.”

21 June 2011 Two Former Presidents Win World Food Prize  Two former presidents have won the 2011 World Food Prize. The foundation that gives the prize has honored John Agyekum Kufuor, president of Ghana from 2001 to 2009, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, leader of Brazil between 2003 and 2009, for putting into place policies to alleviate hunger and poverty in their countries.

17 June 2011 High Prices Threaten Food Security   The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization have released  their Agricultural Outlook 2011–2020 report.  This says that the outlook for world agricultural output and food supplies is positive in the near future, but projects higher prices and persistent volatility in commodity supplies and prices  several years out.

12 June 2011 More U.S. Support to Combat Hunger and Malnutrition in Tanzania  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the Obama administration is increasing funding for Tanzanian nutritional programs as part of its Feed the Future initiative and pledged the administration’s commitment to Tanzania’s agricultural sector.

12 June 2011 Remarks by Clinton, Others on Nutrition, 1,000 Days Initiative  Remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Tanzanian Prime Minster Mizengo Pinda and Irish Deputy Prime Minister Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore at the High-Level Meeting on Nutrition and 1,000 Days Initiative

06 May 2011 Farmers Need More Market Information, Clinton Says  Market-based approaches to food production and access can blunt the negative impact of rising global food prices, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says. Clinton encouraged countries to improve and share information about food production; abstain from export bans, quotas and taxes; discourage panic buying and hoarding; and establish programs to get food to the people at greatest risk.

04 March 2011 Global Food Prices Reach Record High in February  Global food prices reached a record-high level in February, driven mainly by higher prices for cereals, meat and dairy products. The increases have raised concerns that millions more people could be pushed further into poverty and civil unrest could result, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

03 March 2011 Two new fact sheets are available from the Department of State:

• Fact sheet: Food Prices Crisis of 2007-2008: Lessons Learned
• Fact sheet: International Agricultural Commodity Prices

29 December 2010 New Crops Bring More Nutrients to Hungry Crop breeders are developing new varieties of seven staple food crops, each with high levels of essential micronutrients and each with potential for rewarding farmers who grow them with higher yields.

16 August 2010 Speech by Secretary Clinton on U.S. Global Health Initiative

16 August 2010 Fact Sheet on U.S. Global Health Initiative The U.S. to invest $63 billion to help partner countries improve health system

18 June 2010 The World Food Prize - What Is It?  When Norman Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, the citation praised him for "providing bread for a hungry world." Borlaug was honored for developing high-yield strains of wheat that averted famine in Asia in the 1960s. Yet, in his acceptance speech, he said there were many others who deserved the award as much as he did.

16 June 2010 Secretary Clinton's Remarks at Announcement of 2010 World Food Prize Winners

20 May 2010 United States Reaffirms Commitment to Addressing Global Hunger and Food Security through Feed the Future Initiative
 • Remarks by Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administrator, USAID at Chicago Council Symposium on Agriculture and Food Security

06 May 2010 Hunger Numbers Worldwide Continue to Rise  Hunger numbers are rising as the developing world continues to deal with the compounding effects of a global financial crisis and a global food crisis, warns the executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme, Josette Sheeran. Sheeran discussed global hunger recently at a briefing in Washington.

18 November 2009 U.S. Pledges $3.5 Billion to Spur Agriculture-Led Economic Growth   The United States will invest $3.5 billion over three years to spur agricultural growth in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way. “Let us mark 2009 as the year in which we reversed the decline in investment in agriculture and took up the challenge to ensure global food security for all,” said Alonzo Fulgham, acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, November 17 at the World Summit on Food Security in Rome.

16-18 November 2009 : World Summit on Food Security (links to www.fao.org)

18 November 2009 News from the Summit
 • World Summit on Food Security Declaration (PDF, 7 pages) (PDF 63KB)
 • Statement of the head of the U.S. Delegation to the Summit, Alonzo Fulgham (U.S. Embassy Rome website)

16 November 2009 Rome Summit Seeks to Promote Food Security Worldwide  The November 16–18 World Summit on Food Security offers a chance to broaden the international coalition working to promote greater food security for the more than 1 billion chronically hungry people who are now at risk worldwide. Franklin C. Moore, deputy assistant administrator in the Africa Bureau at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and USAID’s coordinator for food security, made that point in an interview with America.gov just before leaving for the Rome summit, which is being sponsored by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Moore is part of the U.S. delegation attending the event, which more than 60 heads of state and government are expected to attend.

16 November 2009 Food Security Top Priority for Obama Administration Food security is one of the top issues worldwide and a “very top priority” for the Obama administration, says longtime food security advocate Tony Hall, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. World Food Programme and former U.S. lawmaker, who spent 24 years in Congress working to feed the hungry worldwide. Hall, who is the executive director of the Washington-based Alliance to End Hunger, discussed food security policy with America.gov on the eve of the World Summit on Food Security in Rome.

13 November 2009 Report Links Agriculture Successes to Food Security Successes in agricultural development that have significantly reduced world hunger are highlighted in a new report from a research group.Millions Fed: Proven Successes In Agricultural Development, released November 12 by the International Food Policy Research Institute, is the first compilation of successes linked to increased food security.The full text of the report (PDF, 17.3MB) is available on the Web site of the International Food Policy Research Institute.

16 October 2009 Secretary Clinton's Statement on World Food Day