COMING TOGETHER WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO BOOST AGRICULTURAL GROWTH
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A "Super Service Center" brings much-needed inputs to farmers, buyers, and traders in Northern Kenya, providing animal health products and services across the region.
Credit: Eric Onyiego/USAID Kenya
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When Feed the Future was born in 2009, the United States and other donors committed to doing business differently in order to solve the 2007/8 food security crisis and put agricultural growth back at the top of the global development agenda. Part of "doing business differently" meant creating a new model of development, one that works hand in hand with bilateral organizations, civil society actors, local governments, researchers, and the private sector to ensure we can feed a growing population with fewer and fewer natural resources. More than ever, there is agreement that to achieve food security, governments and other donors cannot go it alone. Private sector partners were, are, and will continue to be invaluable in helping Feed the Future foster innovation, build the infrastructure needed to facilitate agriculture-led economic growth, and create and expand new markets for local and global consumers.
Already, Feed the Future is taking the lead in working with the private sector to address the negative impacts of weather and climate change and ensure that the progress we've made in reducing poverty, hunger and undernutrition continues. In the face of increasing challenges to agricultural sustainability, our work with the private sector is vital.
Partnering with the private sector is also a win-win: Our efforts foster investment at all levels--on farm and off, public and private--boost income growth in developing countries, and increase demand for the products U.S. farmers and businesses provide. To feed the nearly 800 million people still suffering from chronic hunger today, we need dynamic partnerships that promote growth in new markets, increased investment in agriculture, and cutting-edge research and technologies that help nations meet their agricultural potential and, in turn, increase overall global stability.
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Coming Together with the Private Sector to Boost Agricultural Growth
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| Credit: Jon Einar Flatnes |
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SATELLITE IMAGERY FROM SPACE PROTECTS FARMERS
To improve the financial stability of Tanzanian smallholder farmers, the Assets and Market Access Innovation Lab is implementing groundbreaking satellite imagery and technologies that track plant growth, crop type and planting cycles, helping farmers better prepare for the future.
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For Salomon and other Honduran farmers, access to production technology and crop protection products has been a game-changer. By better managing their crops and protecting against pests, farmers are increasing yields and creating jobs for their communities through better market demand for produce.
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Rin, a rice mill owner in Cambodia, and other small business owners like him, often find it difficult to secure funding to grow their businesses. To help enterprises like Rin's, Feed the Future and 11 agribusinesses are joining forces to help these ventures get the funding they need to thrive.
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Women in Rwandan farming communities, who often face many challenges caring for their families, are reaping the benefits of a Walmart Foundation-supported training program that's trained more than 50,000 farmers in improved cultivation techniques, horticulture and milk production.
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For smallholder farmers, there's no problem more challenging than access to post-harvest storage. If improperly stored, the grain can become contaminated and cause health problems. Now, a more farmer-friendly moisture meter is helping farmers determine when and how to store their grain.
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| Credit: Alex Snyder/Peace Corps | In his local Ghanaian community, where many children suffer from malnutrition, Peace Corp Volunteer Joe Stein, known locally as the 'Moringa Man,' has focused most of his service on moringa tree cultivation. His work with moringa is helping provide healthier futures for Ghanaian children.
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| Credit: African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) |
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Soybean has been the fastest growing land crop for the last 15 years, but farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa haven't yet tapped into the soybean revolution. The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Soybean Value Chain Research is testing soybean varieties across several countries across the region to connect these farmers to a thriving market.
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| Credit: Amanda Crump, University of California, Davis |
In many developing countries, more than half of all produce is wasted due to lack of affordable and effective cooling technologies. A farmer from upstate NY is trying to change all that with the CoolBot, a small device with big potential to change the way farmers store food.
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Across much of Africa, a collaboration between Feed the Future and private sector partners is changing the face of the food processing industry for the better, benefiting more food processors, more consumers, and more farmers.
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| Credit: TechnoServe, Inc. |
Mozambican cashew farmers, once leaders in the global cashew market, found themselves falling behind after the country's civil war. Now, they're finding their way back to prosperity after an effort to revitalize the value of Mozambican cashews.
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Across Northern Ghana, smallholder farmers are seeing their yields increase due to improved equipment and inputs made possible through an agribusiness partnership with John Deere, among others.
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In Tanzania, Feed the Future is working with local partners and companies to increase access to, and provide training in, orange-fleshed sweet potato, teaching school kids better agricultural practices in the process.
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| Credit: Moana Technologies |
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As worldwide demand for shrimp grows, an innovative partnership in Bangladesh is leading the way in shrimp breeding technology, making it possible for the country's smallholder shrimp farmers to make a better living.
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| Credit: Robert Sauers, USAID/Ethiopia |
Flour fortification, an inexpensive and highly effective way to reduce child mortality and stunted growth, is making a difference in Ethiopia as local millers and food processors join forces to improve flour production.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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NEWS & MEDIA
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News
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January 20, 2016, Gibbs Dube (Voice of America | Zimbabwe)
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Opinion & Blogs |
Senator Amy Klobuchar (Agri-Pulse)
The rising importance of food to America's national security January 21, 2016, Former Rep. Larry Combest (The Hill)
Why the Future Is Bright for the World's Poorest Farmers
January 20, 2016, Bill Gates (Gates Notes)
January 13, 2016, Jo Handelsman and Elizabeth Stulberg (White House)
January 8, 2016, Nancy Stetson (U.S. Department of State | DipNote)
January 8, 2016, Alex Thier (Foreign Policy)
January 4, 2016 (U.S. Global Leadership Coalition)
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Videos
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January 20, 2016 (Gates Notes)
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ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
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This newsletter is intended to enhance collaboration and information-sharing
about implementation of Feed the Future. To subscribe or to find out more
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Copyright � 2015. All Rights Reserved.
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