Statement by Andrew S. Natsios
Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development
Regarding World Food Day
WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE
http://www.usaid.gov/
Press: (202) 712-4320
Public Information: (202) 712-4810
2004-096
October 14, 2004
Contact: USAID Press Office
Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development joins with its partners at the United Nations and in the international community to commemorate World Food Day, October 16, 2004. This day was established in 1945 to address hunger and human suffering around the world. This year's theme, Biodiversity for Food Security, complements USAID's goal of a world free of hunger and poverty, where people live in dignity, peace and security.
In 2004, USAID's Office of Food for Peace - the largest-donating partner of the United Nations World Food Program - celebrated 50 years of service to the global community. Food for Peace and its dozens of partners share one common mission: to reduce hunger and malnutrition and assure that people everywhere have enough food at all times for healthy, productive lives.
For half a century, the Food for Peace program has brought hope and nourishment to the hungry corners of this earth, feeding approximately 3 billion people in 150 countries with more than 106 million metric tons of food. In addition to providing emergency food aid, Food for Peace helps developing countries improve local agriculture and vital infrastructure so they no longer have to rely on food aid. We use America's agricultural and scientific talents to fight undernourishment and famine, from Afghanistan to Ethiopia, India to Iraq, and many other places.
Biodiversity of crops and livestock represent the critical building blocks of global food security. For more than 30 years, USAID has supported international efforts to ensure that thousands of strains of seeds are available to help meet future food needs. USAID has mobilized science in the United States and around the world to build on this biodiversity in ways that provide smallholder farm families with improved, pest- and disease-resistant varieties of the staple crops that increase both the supply of food and the incomes of the poor.
As one of the earliest partners in the "Green Revolution," USAID's investments in science and technology have helped farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America produce many billions of dollars worth of extra food, enough to feed hundreds of millions of people every year. New technologies in dairying and animal husbandry, often managed by women, are making nutritious meat, milk and eggs more affordable for poor people.
Since 1985, USAID's Farmer to Farmer program has provided a link between U.S. farmers and farmers in the developing world, allowing knowledge of improved agricultural techniques to pass from the developed world to developing nations. Implemented in more than 80 countries and benefiting more than a million families, USAID technical experts in the field have demonstrated the use of advanced seeds, improved planting techniques, improved fertilizers and irrigation systems.
While we have saved millions of lives, we know that our work is not done. On this World Food Day, we look forward to addressing the challenges of a new century: finding creative ways to reduce hunger and malnutrition; and ensuring that people everywhere have enough food to lead healthy, productive lives."
The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.
Back to Top ^
|
