Des Moines, Iowa
[Remarks as Prepared]
DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR ISOBEL COLEMAN: Thank you, President [Akinwumi] Adesina, for that introduction, and thank you, President [Samia Suluhu] Hassan and President [Julius Maada] Bio, for your thoughtful reflections. It is an honor to join you today, representing the U.S. Agency for International Development.
As we’ve heard, the level of need remains great in Africa. It is one of the few regions of the world where hunger and undernourishment have continued to rise in recent years. However, Africa is also home to 12 of the 20 fastest growing economies on the planet, and the continent is poised to become the world’s second fastest-growing economic region.
This is a moment of great opportunity. With smart policy reforms, and increased investment and trade, we can realize the potential of this dynamic region while seriously tackling poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
The U.S. government’s global hunger initiative, Feed the Future, prioritizes investments in Africa – providing more than $400 million each year to drive inclusive and sustainable agriculture-led growth, improve nutrition outcomes, and build resilience. Feed the Future’s locally-led model has yielded remarkable success over its first decade. In areas where Feed the Future has worked, poverty, hunger, and child stunting all declined by 20 to 25 percent.
But, we know there is much more work to be done.
As global needs continue to far outpace available resources, USAID is focused on investing our dollars in the most impactful, cost-effective ways to maximize our impact. Under Feed the Future, we are making an effort to concentrate our work in countries and regions where we see both significant need and opportunity to drive long-term sustainable progress.
Through rigorous data analysis, we have identified three countries in sub-Saharan Africa – Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia – as ripe for the kind of agricultural transformation that can lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty and help expand the food supply across the region and beyond. So, through an initiative we are calling Feed the Future Accelerator, we are doubling down on our investments in these three countries. We believe these countries have the potential to become regional breadbaskets helping to feed the world.
In partnership with the African Union, the Accelerator will allow us to support an African-led approach to tap into that potential. The governments in these countries – by implementing the smart policies and economic reforms needed to catalyze inclusive growth – are laying the groundwork to form a regional agricultural powerhouse.
We are committed to capitalizing on this game-changing opportunity in the region. So, last month, we announced over $80 million in USAID commitments to Feed the Future Accelerator, which complements an ongoing portfolio of nearly $500 million in investments from across the U.S. government in these three countries. And, over the course of this week, we’ve seen that number grow.
For example, on Tuesday, the Millennium Challenge Corporation announced a new $491 million compact with Zambia, with MCC providing $458 million and the Government of Zambia contributing $33 million to boost agricultural productivity and investment. And, as we ramp up our investments in these priority countries, the U.S. and other donors are also investing in the hard infrastructure that farmers need to access affordable agricultural inputs and then to transport what they grow to markets across the region.
Under the umbrella of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, or PGI, we are investing in the Lobito Corridor – an ambitious infrastructure project stretching from the port of Lobito on Angola’s Atlantic coast, through the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Zambia, and on to Tanzania. These investments will directly benefit smallholder farmers and agricultural small and medium-sized enterprises by enabling them to scale up operations, create linkages to agro-processing and storage, create jobs, and drive growth. Our ambition is that this economic corridor, enhanced by our investments in the Accelerator, will raise incomes among small- and medium-sized farm holders, especially women farmers, while also contributing to regional trade and market linkages – catalyzing the kind of agricultural growth needed to enable countries not just to provide for their own people but to become major food exporters.
And, we know that these investments in infrastructure and food security are also building greater climate resilience in a region battling the impacts of climate change. USAID has announced over $38 million in new research investments with a host of U.S. universities that will focus on developing climate-smart innovations to build resilience and support smallholder farmers in Accelerator countries specifically and across Africa more broadly.
But, we know that the United States government cannot do this alone, which is why we are excited that the private sector is joining us in this effort, with major companies such as Bayer and ofi, one of the largest coffee suppliers in the world, investing over $150 million in Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia. And, earlier this week, you may have heard from Bayer and ofi about the investments they are making. Bayer will invest $35 million in building a new seed production facility in Zambia, which is expected to open in March 2025. The hybrid seeds Bayer will produce will be sold across the region, contributing to a more integrated regional seed market that benefits smallholder farmers in neighboring countries. ofi, one of the largest coffee producers and exporters in Tanzania and Zambia, will invest $80 million over the next four years in Zambia and Tanzania coffee value chains. These investments will boost local economies and generate additional income for farming communities.
This kind of partnership – with the private sector, with local African leaders, with other donors, and beyond – will be vital to our efforts. Together, we will create an engine that can help feed hungry people, not just in these three countries, but across the African continent.