This sixth annual review of the U.S. Government’s commitments, achievements, and lessons learned in reducing global hunger, poverty, and malnutrition comes at a time when the world faces a food security crisis of historic proportions. The combined impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, rising energy, food and fertilizer costs, and protracted conflict, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are leading to rising levels of poverty, hunger, and malnutrition across the world. According to the UN World Food Programme, as many as 783 million people are going to bed hungry each night. And the number facing a level of hunger so intense that their lives and livelihoods are at stake jumped from 193 million in 2021 to 258 million in 2022.
Since January 2021, the United States has provided more than $17.5 billion to address famine and food insecurity, including through humanitarian assistance for food shipments, direct cash assistance, nutritional support, and other emergency measures. But such measures would be incomplete without long-term investments in agricultural and food systems around the world—investments that will not just address the current food crisis, but help countries sustainably produce enough of their own food to prevent another one.
That’s why USAID has stepped up investments in Feed the Future (FTF)—the whole-of-government initiative designed for the express purpose of advancing agricultural innovation and building sustainable food systems that can help countries and communities feed themselves. In 2022, USAID expanded FTF operations to eight new target countries—the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia—bringing the initiative’s total number of target countries to 20. As detailed in this report, new guidance is in development for these countries to implement the newly launched Global Food Security Strategy and to better address the chronic hunger and malnutrition these communities face.
Already we are taking bold steps to harness Feed the Future programming in order to feed the present, while sustainably supporting longer-term food security. Since the onset of the currentglobal food crisis, USAID has expanded efforts to provide seeds, fertilizer, and financial resources to smallholder farmers, especially women, in some of the world’s poorest communities; to help farmers more efficiently use fertilizer and groundwater; to grow crops resistant to drought, disease, and changing weather patterns stemming from the climate crisis; and to help store and process excess harvests that too often goes to waste.
In addition, USAID has invested heavily in agricultural research—research that forms the basis of innovative, new technologies to boost crop yields and increase resilience to climate shocks. And we have expanded our partnerships with private companies, leveraging USAID funds to secure $698 million in financial commitments in FY 2022 and valuable business expertise, as well. In the years to come, Feed the Future will continue to play a critically important role in addressing the current global food crisis, while also preventing the next one by building the resilience of communities around the world.
Sincerely,
Samantha Power
USAID Administrator and Feed the Future Global Coordinator