Secretary of State Clinton and Prime Minister Pinda plant sweet pepper seedlings in the fields of the Upendo Women’s Group in Tanzania, June 12, 2011. ©AP Image |
Feed the Future is President Obama’s signature initiative on global food security. The United States is helping countries transform their own agricultural sectors to grow enough food sustainably to feed their people. Prime Minister Pinda invited Secretary Clinton to Tanzania to launch a Feed the Future program. In honor of this event, sweet pepper seedlings were planted in the fields of the Upendo Women’s Group. Part of the Feed the Future mission is to support similar groups in improving their quality of life through enhancing their incomes, and improving their nutrition. The program provides training and technologies, such as high-quality seeds and simple irrigation systems. Both Secretary Clinton and Prime Minister Pinda discussed the importance of elevating nutrition as a critical component of food security with other foreign government officers.
Over the next five years, Feed the Future intends to assist 18 million vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty; generate $2.8 billion in agricultural GDP in target regions through research and development activities; and leverage $70 billion in private investment in agriculture that improves sustainable market opportunities and linkages with smallholder farmers.
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“We hope that you will become not only a model for the country, but you will become a model for all of Africa.” — Secretary of State, |
Feed the Future represents the strengths of USAID, with State Department providing a vital role, and includes the Peace Corps, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the Treasury Department, U.S. Trade Representative, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. African Development Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
