President Obama announced a plan designed, in part, to combat the global food crisis* on the final day of the G-20 summit in London last week. The initiative allots $448 million to address immediate aid concerns in Latin America and Africa, and allocates another $1 billion for the development of a long-term food security strategy. The President also said that he intends to double U.S. assistance for global agricultural productivity and rural development.
The announcement was applauded by leaders of several non-governmental organizations which focus on food issues including Robert Zachritz, World Vision’s director for advocacy and government relations in the U.S; Oxfam America president Raymond C. Offenheiser; and Bread for the World president Rev. David Beckmann.
Mr. Zachritz voiced his support for the decision by citing the comparative cost of the plan to the economic stimulus package:
“The cost of the President’s proposal on global hunger is one-tenth of one percent of the economic stimulus plans passed over the last year in Congress to address the economic crisis in the United States. Clearly one-tenth of one percent is something the U.S. can afford to spend to save millions of lives.”
Mr. Offenheiser’s statement expressed gratitude for the President’s scheme as the first step in what he feels will need to be a much larger framework – extending beyond an allocation of money:
“President Obama has taken an important step today in committing resources to address the global food crisis—an essential element of a larger effort to alleviate global hunger and poverty. We look forward to working with the Obama administration in framing this larger strategy.”
Rev. Beckmann lauded the President’s attention to the links between the global financial crisis and the world food supply problem:
“As part of a package to revive the global economy, the President recognizes that the global economic crisis is also a world hunger crisis.” He added, “While details of the proposal are not yet clear, what is clear is that the President understands that we must deal with the hunger dimension of this crisis.”
All three organizations voiced enthusiasm for the announcement as a signal that the White House and Congress are now putting the food crisis on their respective and collective radars, citing the call for passage of the Lugar-Casey Global Food Security Act by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The Global Food Security Act was discussed on this blog with regards to a hearing on the bill on March 24th. That blog post can be found here.
*The Reuters report isolates President Obama’s comments on aid and food safety during his post G-20 press conference. The full text of the President’s remarks can be found here.
Posted by Sara Chupein
