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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Attacking Hunger at Its Roots
  • Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2009 17:50:07 -0600



Attacking Hunger at Its Roots
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hillary-clinton/attacking-hunger-at-its-r_b_21
4351.html
Hillary Clinton
Secretary of State
Posted: June 11, 2009 12:34 PM


This morning, one billion people around the world woke up hungry and
tonight, they will go to sleep hungry. This issue has not gotten the
attention it deserves, and it is a personal priority of mine and of the
Obama Administration to address the challenge of chronic hunger with a very
high level of focus and dedication.

Hunger is not only a physical condition. It is a drain on economic
development, a threat to global security, a barrier to health and education
reform, and a trap for the millions of people worldwide who work from
sun-up to sun-down every day to produce a harvest that often doesn't meet
their needs.

Today at the World Food Prize ceremony at the State Department, I am
honoring Dr. Gebisa Ejeta, who has transformed farming in many parts of the
world and saved millions of lives by identifying varieties of a key African
crop resistant to drought and specific types of weeds.

We have the resources to give every person in the world the tools they need
to feed themselves and their children. So the question is not whether we
can end hunger. It's whether we will.

The Obama Administration is committed to providing leadership in developing
a new global approach to hunger. We will look to 7 guiding principles to
support the creation of effective, sustainable farming systems in regions
around the world where the current methods aren't working:

1. We will seek to increase agricultural productivity, by expanding
access to quality seeds, fertilizers, irrigation tools, and the credit to
purchase them and training to use them.

2. We will work to stimulate the private sector, by improving the
storage and processing of food and improving roads and transportation so
small farmers can sell the fruits of their labor at local markets.

3. We are committed to maintaining natural resources, so the land can be
farmed well into the future. That includes helping developing communities
adapt to climate change, which has had a major effect on the world's farms.

4. We will expand knowledge and training by supporting R&D and
cultivating the next generation of plant scientists.

5. We will seek to increase trade so small-scale farmers can sell their
crops far and wide.

6. We will support policy reform and good governance, because
sustainable agriculture flourishes in a clear and predictable policy and
regulatory environment.

7. We will support women and families. 70% of the world's farmers are
women, but most programs that offer farmers credit and training target men.
This is unfair and impractical. An effective agricultural system must have
incentives for those who do the work. And it must take into account the
particular needs of those whose futures will shape our world: our children.


These seven principles will guide us and help us set benchmarks to measure
the impact of our efforts. We are committed to collecting data, assessing
our progress, and when necessary, correcting our course.


Supporting sustainable agriculture won't be a side project of the Obama
Administration. Attacking hunger at its roots will directly impact whether
we meet our foreign policy goals and I invite each and every one of you to
join this effort.





  • [Livingontheland] Attacking Hunger at Its Roots, Tradingpost, 06/14/2009

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