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Cochairs
Senator Robert P. Casey (D-PA)Senator Richard G. Lugar (R-IN)
Project Directors
J. Stephen Morrison
Johanna Nesseth Tuttle
CSISCENTER FOR STRATEGIC &
INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
july 2008
a call for a strategic
u.s. approach to the
global food crisis
A Report of the CSIS Task Force on the Global Food Crisis
Core Findings and Recommendations
8/14/2019 A call for a strategic U.S. approach to the global food crisis
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Cochairs
Senator Robert P. Casey (D-PA)Senator Richard G. Lugar (R-IN)
Project Directors
J. Stephen Morrison
Johanna Nesseth Tuttle
CSISCENTER FOR STRATEGIC &
INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
july 2008
a call for a strategic
u.s. approach to the
global food crisis
A Report of the CSIS Task Force on the Global Food Crisis
Core Findings and Recommendations
8/14/2019 A call for a strategic U.S. approach to the global food crisis
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About CSIS
In an era o ever-changing global opportunities and challenges, the Center or Strategic and Inter-national Studies (CSIS) provides strategic insights and practical policy solutions to decisionmak-ers. CSIS conducts research and analysis and develops policy initiatives that look into the utureand anticipate change.
Founded by David M. Abshire and Admiral Arleigh Burke at the height o the Cold War, CSISwas dedicated to the simple but urgent goal o nding ways or America to survive as a nation andprosper as a people. Since 1962, CSIS has grown to become one o the worlds preeminent publicpolicy institutions.
Today, CSIS is a bipartisan, nonprot organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. Morethan 220 ull-time sta and a large network o afliated scholars ocus their expertise on deenseand security; on the worlds regions and the unique challenges inherent to them; and on the issuesthat know no boundary in an increasingly connected world.
Former U.S. senator Sam Nunn became chairman o the CSIS Board o Trustees in 1999, andJohn J. Hamre has led CSIS as its president and chie executive ofcer since 2000.
CSIS does not take specic policy positions; accordingly, all views expressed in this publica-tion should be understood to be solely those o the author(s).
2008 by the Center or Strategic and International Studies. All rights reserved.
Cover photograph: AP Images (Amritsar, India shot by photographer Aman Sharma)
The CSIS Press
Center or Strategic and International Studies1800 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006Tel: (202) 775-3119Fax: (202) 775-3199Web: www.csis.org
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ii | Global Food Crisis
COCHAIRS
Senator Robert P. Casey(D-PA)
Senator Richard G. Lugar(R-IN)
PROJECT DIRECTORS
J. Stephen Morrison
Co-Director, Arica Programand Executive Director,HIV/AIDS ask Force, CSIS
Johanna Nesseth Tuttle
Vice President, StrategicPlanning, CSIS
TASK FORCE MEMBERS
Rev. David BeckmannPresident, Bread or the World
Neil BrownProessional Sta Member,
Senate Foreign RelationsCommittee
Marc J. CohenResearch Fellow, InternationalFood Policy Research Institute
Mauro De LorenzoResident Fellow, AmericanEnterprise Institute or PublicPolicy Reasearch
Jeralyn Eddings
Independent Consultant
Charles FreemanFreeman Chair in ChinaStudies, CSIS
General Carlton FulordU.S. Marine Corps (ret.)
Laurie GarrettSenior Fellow or Global Health,
Council on Foreign Relations
Helene D. GaylePresident & CEO, CARE USA
Charlotte HebebrandChie Executive, InternationalFood & Agriculture radePolicy Council
Julie HowardExecutive Director,Partnership to Cut Hunger
and Poverty in Arica
Jof JosephForeign Policy LegislativeAssistant, Oce o SenatorRobert P. Casey
David KauckSenior Policy Analyst,CARE USA
Jim KolbeSenior ransatlantic Fellow,
Te German Marshall Fundo the United States
Gawain KripkeDirector, Policy & Research,Oxam America
Sarah O. LadislawFellow, Energy & NationalSecurity Program, CSIS
Nora LustigMember, Board o Directors,Center or Global Development;Visiting Proessor oInternational Aairs,George Washington University
Rev. James L. McDonaldVice President or Policy &Program, Bread or the World
Amr MoubarakCenter or Global Development
Phillip Nieburgask Force on HIV/AIDS, CSIS
Rajul Pandya-LorchChie o Sta, InternationalFood Policy Research Institute
John S. ParkSenior Fellow & Director,Northeast Asia Programs, U.S.Institute o Peace
Eric P. SchwartzExecutive Director,Connect U.S. Fund
Ann TutwilerFormer President & CEO,International Food &Agriculture rade PolicyCouncil
Connie VeilletteSenior Proessional StaMember, Senate Foreign
Relations Committee
Frank A. VerrastroDirector & Senior Fellow,Energy & National SecurityProgram, CSIS
Cathy WoolardExecutive Vice President,Global Advocacy & ExternalRelations, CARE USA
Frank J. YoungVice President, StrategicPlanning, International Lineo Business, Abt Associates
csis task force on the global food crisis
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Morrison and Nesseth Tuttle | 1
preface
In May 2008, in response to the growing global
ood crisis, the Center or Strategic and Inter-
national Studies (CSIS) launched a task orce
to assess the rising humanitarian, security,
developmental, and market impacts o rising
ood costs and shortages. Its cochairs, Senators
Richard G. Lugar (R-IN) and Robert P. Casey
(D-PA) charged the task orce with identiy-ing, by late July 2008, a easible but bold plan
o action that the Bush administration, the
presidential campaigns, Congress, and the next
administration could embrace on a bipartisan
basis. Te result, outlined in the ollowing
report, is an argument or modernizing and
doubling emergency assistance, elevating rural
development and agricultural productivity to
be new oreign policy priorities, revising the
U.S. approach to biouels so that uel and oodsecurity objectives are eectively de-conicted,
acting on an urgent basis to conclude the Doha
Development Round, and creating a strategic
U.S. approach to global ood security that inter-
links approaches to relie, development, energy,
and trade and that is backed by new robust
organizational capacities.
Te task orce grew out o extensive prior
work CSIS carried out with the UN World
Food Program on global ood relie issues,
particularly with respect to Aghanistan,
Sudan, Myanmar, Zimbabwe, and Somalia. In
April 2008, Josette Sheeran, executive director
o the World Food Program, delivered a major
policy address at CSIS on the rising global
ood crisis. Te evening prior to the address,
CSIS hosted a dinner at which Ms. Sheeran
engaged with representatives rom the Senate
Appropriations Committee, the U.S. Depart-
ment o State, the U.S. Agency or Interna-
tional Development, the U.S. Department
o Agriculture, CARE, the Center or Global
Development, the International Food Policy
Research Institute, the Gates Foundation, andthe military. Sentiment at that session was
strongly in avor o CSIS launching the task
orce in order to better clariy or a Washing-
ton audience the gravity o the threat present-
ed by the global ood crisis, the major actors
driving it, and a way orward. Subsequently,
we were ortunate to receive, on a rapid basis,
support or the task orce rom the Connect
U.S. Fund and special thanks are reserved or
executive director Eric Schwartz.
Te task orce is especially grateul to Sena-
tors Lugar and Casey, both champions o
development, agriculture, health and nutri-
tion, oreign aairs, and energy policy, and
both highly supportive o the CSIS eort. Jo
Joseph in Senator Caseys oce and Connie
Veillette in the oce o Senator Lugar were
each also very helpul in guiding our eorts.
Te task orce was led by J. Stephen Morrison
and Johanna Nesseth uttle o CSIS and com-
prised a diverse group o senior-level repre-
sentatives o nongovernmental organizations,
ood relie experts, and ormer government
ocials who generously gave their time and
energy. Jeralyn Eddings, independent consul-
tant, provided extensive drafing and editorial
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2 | Global Food Crisis
expertise. Karen Meacham, Kate Hoer, and
Kate Schuster o CSIS contributed mightily to
organizing the task orce.
Te task orce convened two high-level
meetings in May and June 2008 that eaturedexpert presentations by Henrietta Holsman
Fore, administrator, U.S. Agency or Inter-
national Development, and director o U.S.
oreign assistance; Helene D. Gayle, president
and CEO, CARE USA; Rajul Pandya-Lorch,
chie o sta, International Food Policy Re-
search Institute; Colonel Daniel Pike, Oce o
Arican Aairs, U.S. Department o Deense;
Karen Monaghan, national intelligence ocer
or economics and global issues, National
Intelligence Council; Laurie Garrett, senior
ellow, Council on Foreign Relations; Doug
Arent, director, Strategic Energy Analysis
and Applications Center, National Renewable
Energy Laboratory; Ambassador Al Johnson,
Al Johnson & Associates, and ormer ambas-
sador and chie agriculture negotiator, Oce
o the U.S. rade Representative; and Suzanne
Hunt, independent consultant and bioenergy
specialist. All o these busy, gifed individuals
gave generously o their time and energy.
Te task orce also received expert input rom
representatives in the elds o ood sup-
ply, energy, biouels, trade, relie eorts, and
agriculture. We are particularly indebted to
Ronald rostle and other senior economists
at the U.S. Department o Agriculture; Susan
Outt, chie economist, U.S. Government
Accountability Oce; Nazanin Ash; Josette
Lewis, biotechnology adviser, U.S. Agency orInternational Development; Daniel Gustason,
director, Food and Agriculture Organization,
Washington; David Jhirad, vice president or
research and evaluation, Rockeeller Foun-
dation; Michael Usnick, UN World Food
Program; Jennier Parmelee, UN World Food
Program; and Kirsten Knoepe Torne, Pub-
lic Policy Advisor, Chevron Corporation.
Both the analysis and recommendations o
this report reect a strong majority consensus
among task orce members, but it is not as-sumed that the members necessarily endorse
every nding and recommendation.
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Morrison and Nesseth Tuttle | 3
Te global ood crisis is hitting with alarming
speed and orce, challenging the United States,
other nations, and key international organiza-
tions to respond with a strategic and long-
term approach.
Te crisis is historic and a call to conscience. It
is global in reach, not conned to a particularregion o the world, or caused by a single disas-
ter or event. It is a moment o great opportuni-
ty. It presents the chance or American leaders,
joined with others, to place hunger, poverty,
and rural development at center stage and to
upgrade dramatically the United States and
others approaches to ood relie, energy, global
trade, and oreign assistance. It presents the
chance or accelerated growth o rural produc-
tion and wealth in the developing world.
Te crisis poses three undamental threats.
A moral and humanitarian threat , which
is pushing an additional 100 million people
into poverty and deepening global hunger
and chronic malnutrition, with the grav-
est impact among poor pregnant women
and children. Eorts o the UN World
Food Program (WFP) to meet immedi-
ate emergency shortalls have risen rom
$3.1 billion in 2007 to almost $6 billion in
2008. Such radically elevated emergency
demands will persist into the uture.
the stakes
A developmental threat , which is erasing
the economic gains o the past decades,
while putting at risk the recent historic
investments in public health and nutrition,
improved education, and community devel-
opment in poor countries. Without eective
action to reverse these trends, developing
countries could see a disabled generation,stunted both physically and mentally and
chronically in need o assistance.
A strategic threat , which is endangering
the stability o developing countries due to
rising cereal prices combined with rapidly
rising uel prices. Te surge in prices has re-
duced the purchasing power o poor people
and inhibited the ability o poor countries
to import ood or their hard-pressed popu-
lations. Tirty countries have experienced
ood-related riots and unrest in 2008, hal
in Arica. Acutely at risk are large, heavily
urbanized nations such as Egypt, Pakistan,
Ethiopia, and Aghanistan. Te orecast or
the next several years is that a wide range o
developing countries will struggle to access
aordable, adequate ood supplies, with
uncertain consequences.
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4 | Global Food Crisis
the drivers
Te root causes o the global ood crisis are
complex, uid, persistent, and multidimen-
sional. Tis is not a simple problem.
Soaring global energy prices contribute to
cost increases in agricultural production
and transportation, impacting all points
across the arm-to-market chain.
Te rise in the production o biouels
based on ood grains has contributed to
global ood price increases since 2006,
though estimates vary widely over the im-
pact, ranging rom 3 percent to 65 percent.
High oil-price trends drive the demand
or biouels, while preerential taris,
subsidies, and mandates contribute to the
rise o American and European producer
preerences or biouel crops. Tis is a
global phenomenon, aecting markets
or wheat, maize, sugar, oil seeds, cassava,
palm oil, and beyond. Te shared dilemma
or Europe and the United States is how
to respond responsibly and eectively to
intensiying pressures to promote ood and
uel security simultaneously.
Demand or cereal grains has outstripped
supply over the past several years, gen-
erating a global imbalance and a decline
in surpluses. Rising demand rom Chinaand Indiaresulting rom their growing
middle classeshas increased the strain on
global supplies. China has almost doubled
its consumption o meat, sh, and dairy
products since 1990 as over 200 million
people have been lifed out o poverty. So
long as the rise o China and India con-
tinues, the structural shif in global cereal
demands will intensiy.
Bad weather, linked possibly to global
climate change, has hampered production
in key ood-exporting countries. Severe
weather events have impacted harvests
rom Australia to West Arica to Bangla-
desh and are now striking at Americas
heartland. Although we know that climate
change is a actor, we know less about how
it will shape specic global ood outcomes
in the near to medium term and what spe-
cic ameliorative steps to take today.
A gross underinvestment in the past
several decades in agricultural production
and technology in the developing world
by donors and developing countries
alikehas contributed to static produc-
tivity, weak markets, and underdeveloped
rural inrastructure. Te question now
is how to correct systematically or this
historic underinvestment.
Te present global agricultural production
and trading system, built on subsidies and
taris, creates grave distortions. It struc-
turally avors production among wealthy
countries and disadvantages producers in
poor developing countries. Imperiled devel-oping countries are today responding to the
current crisis by restricting or banning ood
exports. Until macro incentives are reor-
dered to open the way or investment and
production in developing countries rural
sectors, no durable solution is in sight.
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Morrison and Nesseth Tuttle | 5
An antiquated international system o
mobilizing and deploying ood relie slows
the response to emergencies and imposes
unacceptable costs and ineciencies. Un-
der the current U.S. system, U.S.-procured
commodities (mandated by law, and ac-
counting or over 40 percent o WFPs sup-
plies) can take up to six months to reach
intended beneciaries; shipping, handling,
and other management costs were con-
suming 65 percent o budgets as o early
2007, with the percentage continuing to
rise; and U.S.-origin grain ofen arrives
late and dampens rural grain prices. It is
a broken, expensive, $1.6-billion per year
program that is yielding declining returns
at the very moment when perormance tomeet urgent new needs is most acute. Any
eective U.S. long-term strategic approach
has to somehow transcend this inheritance
and devise policies in tune with emerging
new global realities.
what is to be done?
Te stakes in this crisis are high. Demand
and supply or global ood have changed
undamentally, are out o synch, and gener-ate human, developmental, and security
havoc. Te crisis is expected to persist at least
into the next three or our years, and even
though ood prices may eventually decline
somewhat, experts believe the era o cheap
ood and uel is overat least or the oresee-
able uture. Urgent action is needed on two
ronts: emergency relie and related saety net
programs; and longer-term eorts to reduce
poverty and hunger.
UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, World
Bank president Robert Zoellick, and WFP
executive director Josette Sheeran have
each demonstrated exceptional leadership.
And several important emergency mea-
sures have been taken recently to ameliorate
the immediate ood relie crisis. Te Bush
administration requested $770 million in
emergency ood and development assistance,
and Congress built on the presidents request
by enacting FY 2008 supplemental undinglegislation that allocates more than $1.8 bil-
lion in emergency ood assistance and related
disaster relie. Saudi Arabia committed $500
million toward the WFP. Te World Bank
allocated $1.2 billion and allowed emergency
budgetary support. Te United Nations
launched the Secretary Generals High-Level
ask Force on the Global Food Security
Crisis, which issued a comprehensive action
plan. In early July, the Group o Eight (G-8)nations made ood security a top priority at
its Hokkaido Summit, reinorcing the call or
a coordinated response and comprehensive
strategy. Tese steps are all very welcome,
but more is needed to address the structural
roots o the current crisis.
an opening for u.s. leadership
With the current crisis, a window has opened.
odays ood crisis is an abrupt wake-up call
and a powerul incentive to put together a
new, coherent vision that is not piecemeal
or business as usual, but instead strategically
integrates U.S. approaches to emergency relie,
development, global trade, and energy.
Te United States has the opportunity,
through intensied bilateral and multilateral
initiatives, to put global hunger and malnutri-
tion at the oreront o U.S. policy concerns.U.S. leadership is essential, as it has been tra-
ditionally in earlier global crises, in devising
durable solutions.
Internally, within the U.S. government, a new
strategic approach to the global ood crisis
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6 | Global Food Crisis
will require sustained high-level leadership,
greater interagency coherence and exibility,
and new resource levels. Success will hinge on
the current and uture administrations work-
ing with Congress to cement a new bipartisan
compacton redressing the global ood crisis.
Bold U.S. leadership, carried out over several
years, will not be easy. Tere will be new costs,
dicult trade-os, and sensitive issues that
cut across domestic and international bound-
aries, such as changes in subsidies or devel-
oped country ood production, adjustment o
subsidies and mandates or biouel production
in the United States and Europe, and enlarge-
ment o trade access to global markets by
developing country producers.
Te challenge comes at a time when Ameri-
cans are anxious about rising ood and energy
prices at home, when oods and other severe
weather events have damaged arm crops and
displaced many in the arming community.
But Americans understand and have always
embraced the core values o U.S. global
humanitarianism. Tey empathize withpoor, vulnerable populations whose ability to
eed their children is under siege. Tey also
understand that it runs counter to U.S. global
security interests to see rising violence and
social upheaval among weak states.
We are also at a moment in history when our
leaders are being called on to restore Amer-
icas weakened standing in the world and to
demonstrate a new ethic o close cooperation
with partner states, international organiza-
tions, and civil society in redressing transna-
tional threats. Te global ood crisis is a zone
where U.S. strengths and moral commitments
can generate major returns.
It is essential that the United States ocus on
immediate adjustments, on bold new steps,
and on taking care not to worsen matters.
A special challenge is answering immediate
short-term emergency needs without com-
promising long-term development require-ments. I not careul, expanded international
engagement might ocus overwhelmingly on
immediate response, reinorce urban biases to
the detriment o long-term rural development
needs, and encourage more migration into
urban areas.
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Morrison and Nesseth Tuttle | 7
five priority
recommendations
Te CSIS ask Force recommends:
Modernize emergency assistance.1.
Increase the scale o U.S. commitment
and signicantly improve the speed, agil-
ity, liquidity, and exibility o the U.S.
response. In the ace o this massive crisis,
the United States should concentrate ondevising the means to deliver assistance
to larger numbers o people earlier, more
reliably, and at a much lower cost per
beneciary and with much higher nutri-
ent benets. Te United States should
also give priority to the development
o improved national policies and local
emergency response capacities within at-
risk countries.
Double the U.S. level o annual commit-
ment to emergency ood relie rom $1.6billion to $3.2 billion. It will be essential
also to monitor volatile global market
conditions closely to ascertain whether this
increased level o U.S. assistance is ad-
equate to deliver the intended tonnage and
nutrient content.
Require that no less than 25 percent and
as much as 50 percent o these expanded
emergency unds be available or local
and regional purchases. Te targets orlocal and regional purchases should be
raised over a ve-year period, so that ulti-
mately at least 50 percent and as much as
75 percent o emergency unds is available
or local and regional purchases. Under
this scheme, no less than 25 percent o
U.S. emergency assistance ($0.8 billion)
will be set aside or U.S.-origin ood
shipped on U.S. carriers.
Pursue a robust multilateral approach: re-
constitute the Food Aid Convention to bet-
ter reect current tonnage and nutritional
needs and reinvigorate donor commit-
ments; renew regular international consul-
tations on emergency ood relie response;actively test the easibility o emergency
regional ood stocks and the capacity or
rapid regional purchases (virtual stocks).
Intensiy U.S. ood security diplomacy:
encourage major oil-producing countries
to contribute more to ood relie; press or
more stable and predictable international
nancing mechanisms or supporting the
WFP and its implementing partners.
Enlarge, bilaterally and multilaterally,emergency social saety net programs such
as budget support, school eeding, and
ood or work. Pursue innovative nancial
and risk management tools such as vouch-
ers and insurance schemes. Expand nu-
tritional assistance programs to pregnant
women and children.
Make rural development and agricul-2.
tural productivity U.S. oreign policy
priorities.
Elevate agriculture to be a top priority o
the U.S. oreign assistance strategy. Set
an ocial target to signicantly increase
productivity in the developing world in
the next decade and to signicantly reduce
hunger, poverty, and malnutrition.
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8 | Global Food Crisis
Commit $1 billion per annum o U.S. bilat-
eral development assistance toward:
Improved, pro-growth developing
country policies; expanded delivery o
seeds, ertilizers, extension services,
rural credit; improved access by smallarmers to markets; and development o
new arming technologies.
Investment in a global network o uni-
versities committed to training, applied
research, and exchanges.
Expansion o public-private partner-
ships that mobilize the U.S. government,
private oundations, universities, and
corporations to bring orward new seed
varieties and other new biotechnologies.Expansion o research and pilot proj-
ects to ameliorate the eects o climate
change on agricultural production.
Support the doubling o agricultural pro-
gramming by multilateral institutions such
as the World Bank and the International
Fund or Agricultural Development in the
least-developed countries.
Better coordinate and integrate U.S. or-
eign assistance programsincluding U.S.HIV/AIDS programs under the Presi-
dents Emergency Plan or AIDS Relie
(PEPFAR) and the Millennium Challenge
Corporation (MCC)to ease ood insecu-
rity. MCC has the potential to strengthen
agricultural productivity and aordable
market access to ood by the poor, and the
next administration and Congress should
consider augmenting MCC programs to
more directly address ood insecurity chal-
lenges in present and uture MCC-compactcountries. Worsening ood insecurity and
malnutrition directly aect many PEPFAR
beneciaries and, by implication, threaten
the integrity o mass antiretroviral programs
and related prevention and care eorts.
Open a dialogue with the Chinese, Indian,
and Brazilian governments to coordinate
eorts at promoting agricultural develop-
ment in Arica. Te Chinese have become
a major player in Arica and will ocus on
agriculture at the next Forum on China-
Arica Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in
Cairo in late 2009.
Revise the U.S. approach to biouels.3.
Issue an ocial policy statement outlining
the steps the United States will take to ex-
pand ood crops or consumption purpos-
es and to decouple ood and energy issues
so that the debate progresses rom one o
uel versus ood to uel andood security.
Accelerate eorts to bring on line the
next generation o cellulosic-based andother biouels in order to reduce depen-
dence on corn.
Bring into orce new sustainability criteria
to assess the lie-cycle costs and carbon re-
quirements or alternative biouels. Adjust
subsidies to reect true input costs.
Aggressively oster trade in biouels to al-
low the most ecient producers and eed-
stocks access to U.S. and world markets:
through a phaseout o barriers to trade,including preerential taris; improved
technical standards to acilitate biouels
trade; and expanded trade rom countries
that currently have access to the U.S. mar-
ket under ree-trade agreements (FAs).
Commission analyses o agricultural pro-
ductions dependence on energy inputs, in
both developed and developing countries,
including options or reducing agricultures
reliance on ossil uels.
Focus U.S. trade policy on promoting4.
developing country agriculture.
Make the promotion o developing country
agriculture a goal o U.S. trade policy.
Press on an urgent basis or a success-
ul conclusion o the Doha Development
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Morrison and Nesseth Tuttle | 9
Round that promotes investment and
trade in developing country agriculture
and reduces long-standing subsidy and
tari barriers. Focus U.S. executive-con-
gressional dialogue on concrete measures
that could expedite U.S. approvals o Doha
outcomes. Make the successul conclusion
o the Doha Development Round a oreign
policy priority in diplomatic relations with
member states o the European Union
(EU), member states o the Arican Union
(AU), and emerging markets such as India
and Brazil.
Pursue targeted international and regional
trade discussions that can bring rapid
ollow-on benets to developing country
agriculture. Examine how existing U.S.trade preerences, already in place or many
developing countries, might be used to re-
duce technical barriers to developing coun-
try agricultural exports to the United States
and build trade capacity in those countries.
ake deliberate bilateral and multilateral
diplomatic action to ease export bans and
restrictions that have contributed to higher
ood prices, including strengthening World
rade Organization (WO) rules on export
restrictions. Te World Bank says that 26
net-ood-exporting countries have main-
tained or introduced such measures, mak-
ing it hard to acquire and ship ood to the
most needy even when unds are available.
Strengthen U.S. organizational capacities.5.
Create a White Houseled standing
interagency mechanism on global ood
security. Charge that body with rapidly
devising and overseeing a comprehensive,
long-term strategic vision on global ood
insecurity that interlinks U.S. approaches
to ood, energy, development, and trade;
that better coordinates with partner coun-
tries and with the World Bank, the World
Food Program, and other UN organiza-
tions; and that prioritizes building agri-
cultural production and trade capacity in
developing countries.
Create a Food, Agriculture, and Nutrition
Bureau at the U.S. Agency or Interna-
tional Development (USAID) charged
with leading U.S. operational programs.Ensure that bureau is restaed with ad-
equate career expertise.
Conclude a National Intelligence Estimate
on global ood security by the end o 2008.
Tis should be ready or the next adminis-
tration and or public dissemination.
Authorize and und the U.S. Arica, South-
ern, and Pacic Commands to initiate
civil-military dialogues and exchanges on
nutrition and ood security, including inor-mation sharing and analysis.
the challenge
Te current crisis is unlike any ood emergen-
cy the world has aced in the past. It is caused
by a web o interconnected orces involving
agriculture, energy, climate change, trade, and
new market demands rom emerging markets.
And it carries grave implications or economic
growth and development, international secu-
rity, and social progress in developing coun-
tries. ime is o the essence in ormulating a
response, and U.S. leadership and bipartisan-
ship are essential, as well as expanded U.S.
coordination with international organizations.
Te Bush administration, the presidential
campaigns, the congressional leadership, and
the next administration all have a responsibil-
ity to move U.S. leadership orward.
8/14/2019 A call for a strategic U.S. approach to the global food crisis
14/14
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