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ISSUE #38
MARCH 2015
Feed the Future is the U.S. Government's global hunger and food security initiative. For more information, or to subscribe to this publication
please visit www.feedthefuture.gov.
SUSTAINABLY MANAGING NATURAL RESOURCES FOR IMPROVED FOOD SECURITY

 

In Cambodia, villagers plant seedlings as part of a reforestation effort. Credit: HARVEST

March 22 was World Water Day, which calls attention to the 750 million people around the world who lack access to clean water and highlights the need to sustainably manage water in the future. Both agriculture and nutrition are closely linked to water resources: agriculture accounts for 70 percent of water withdrawal globally, and safe water and sanitation are essential to reducing undernutrition, particularly in young children.


Water and other natural resources underpin long-term food security, which is why Feed the Future partners with focus countries to advance the sustainable and equitable management of land, water, fisheries and other building blocks of food production. As climate change drives up temperatures and impacts oceans and precipitation patterns, it is more important than ever to meet the food needs of a growing population in a way that sustainably and efficiently uses scarce natural resources.


Read on to learn how Feed the Future is building a more food-secure world while helping smallholder farmers adopt agricultural practices and low-cost, sustainable technologies that mitigate environmental degradation.

CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE REDUCES TIME AND LABOR FOR WOMEN IN CAMBODIA
Credit: Manuel Reyes


Through the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management, led by Virginia Tech, Manuel Reyes from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University began promoting conservation agriculture and water-saving techniques in Cambodia. Two years later, 56 households on over 149 hectares were using conservation agriculture practices to grow maize, millet, pigeon pea, cassava and soybean. 

In This Issue
SUSTAINABLY MANAGING NATURAL RESOURCES FOR IMPROVED FOOD SECURITY
Conservation Agriculture Reduces Time and Labor for Women in Cambodia
Managing Natural Resources around Malawi's Hydropower Dams
Pastoral Communities Adapt Sustainable Land Management Practices to Improve Livelihoods 
Natural Resource Management Helps Honduran Farmers Combat Coffee Rust
How One Small Business Helped Make the Rainforest "Too Valuable to Cut Down"
Better Irrigation Systems Strengthen Agricultural Production and Resilience in Haiti
Managing River Water Resources in Moldova
Feed the Future Helps Smallholder Farmers in Tanzania Access Water
Sustainable Composting Provides Valuable Soil Improvements and Household Income for Women Farmers in Tajikistan
Feed the Future Helps Address Water Insecurity in Nepal
Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteer Helps Protect Watershed in Dominican Republic

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Securing Water for Food: A Grand Challenge for Development Announces Third Call for Innovations
Extraordinary Meeting of the Friends of the Lower Mekong

World Water Forum
Global Food Security Symposium 2015
Global Child Nutrition Foundation Gala



Credit: MCC

In Malawi, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is investing in hydropower, a clean and renewable energy source, to revitalize the country's power sector.

Credit: USAID/PRIME

Since joining a Feed the Future-supported program, Huda and his community have witnessed the restoration of native plants as well as healthier and more productive livestock because of improved grasses, all of which are resulting in more income-generating opportunities.


Credit: USDA

In concert with the Government of Honduras and the Honduran Coffee Institute, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's agronomic training is helping to reinvigorate one of the most important productive assets coffee farmers have: trees. New pruning techniques are helping farmers stimulate new growth and achieve higher yields.

Credit: OPIC

Sambazon Inc., a company based in San Clemente, California, was formed in 2000 when a couple of friends traveling in Brazil noticed the local popularity of the antioxidant-rich a�ai berry and saw an opportunity to introduce it to the United States.


Credit: USAID

Water distribution from the new Rivi�re Grise system will be managed by a local water users association trained with support from Feed the Future.

Credit: MCC

In Moldova, the Millennium Challenge Corporation is supporting farmers and local groups to rehabilitate irrigation systems that serve approximately 15,000 hectares of land.


Credit: Fintrac Inc.

Members of the Kazi Yangu Farmer Group have already seen firsthand the benefits of dry-season production. Group chairman Daniel Ntili sees their new well as the game-changer: "We have left our old practices behind. We don't wait for the rains anymore, because dry-season production is where you find the real profits."

Credit: USAID

Farmers using compost and improved vegetable seed with support from Feed the Future have increased yields 15-20 percent during their first year of composting. Aziza, one of many women farmers participating in the program, has learned firsthand how compost can improve the productivity of her land and help boost her family income.


Credit: Small Earth Nepal

To help improve water security in Nepal, the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Adapting Livestock Systems to Climate Change, led by Colorado State University, has been working to introduce efficient bucket drip kit irrigation technology to water-insecure farmers in the Gandaki River Basin.

Credit: Partners of the Americas

Bill Nichols, a volunteer with the U.S. Agency for International Development's Farmer-to-Farmer program, supported by Feed the Future, is working with local communities in the Dominican Republic to develop a strategy to protect the Yaque del Norte watershed, the environmental health of which directly or indirectly affects two million people.


ANNOUNCEMENTS

Securing Water for Food: A Grand Challenge for Development Announces Third Call for Innovations

 

On March 9, at the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands announced the third call for groundbreaking innovations under Securing Water for Food: A Grand Challenge for Development. This $12.5 million global call for proposals has an increased focus on cutting-edge, advanced technologies and business models, as well as innovations that prioritize the engagement of women. Learn more.
 

Extraordinary Meeting of the Friends of the Lower Mekong


On February 2, Counselor Tom Shannon and Senior Advisor to the Secretary Ambassador David Thorne led a U.S. delegation to the Extraordinary Meeting of the Friends of the Lower Mekong in Pakse, Laos. The Friends of the Lower Mekong, a donor coordination group, came together with the countries of the Lower Mekong to discuss the connection between water resources, energy needs and food security. Learn more.
UPCOMINUEG EVENTS
NEWS & NMMEDIA
NeNewsws
March 27, 2015, Teri Blandon (U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation)

March 26, 2015, Kizito Makoye (Christian Science Monitor)

March 25, 2015, Dan Charles (NPR)

March 20, 2015, Katy Daigle (Associated Press)

March 20, 2015, Jon Springer (Forbes)

March 17, 2015, Robert Sauers (USAID)

March 12, 2015 (USAID)

March 7, 2015, Prince-Josh Adams (IPP Media)
Opinion & BlogsOpinionsBlogs
March 27, 2015, Katie Lee (Huffington Post)

March 26, 2015, Darius Mans (Huffington Post)

March 24, 2015, Richard Lugar, Peter McPherson, Dan Glickman (The Hill)

March 24, 2015, Feed the Future

March 18, 2015, Tjada McKenna (The Guardian)

March 18, 2015, Dan Glickman and Doug Bereuter (Agri-Pulse)
VideosVideos
March 18, 2015, Giovanni Ortolani and Paola Di Bella (Sci Dev Net)
March 9, 2015, Secretary John Kerry (State Department)
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