Agriculture under Pressure: Implications for Agricultural Development in U.S. Foreign Assistance

Agriculture Under Pressure examines the evolving role of agricultural development in today’s U.S. foreign assistance strategy and programming. The numbers of hungry people are rising again, with hunger concentrated in fragile, conflict-, and climate-affected regions where production and trade are disrupted. Concerns are growing that the environmental costs and health impacts associated with the prevailing model of agricultural production are unacceptably high. The spread of the global coronavirus pandemic in 2020 has revealed shocking vulnerabilities in food and agricultural systems at all levels.

Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, which is managed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is mandated to lead U.S. support for the development of food and agricultural systems of low- and middle-income countries.

The Policy Brief summarizes the evolution of Feed the Future, reviews the key pressures affecting agriculture today, and proposes recommendations for U.S. foreign assistance.

The White Paper discusses five core opportunities for Feed the Future to strengthen resilience and move toward a more sustainable, inclusive, and healthy food and agriculture system.

Julie Howard and Emmy Simmons are non-resident senior advisers with the Global Food Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. Both are independent consultants on international development issues with a focus on food, agriculture, and Africa.

This report was made possible through the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.