April 8, 2009
Leonard Presents Panel at Food Aid Conference
ACDI/VOCA President Carl Leonard moderated a plenary lunchtime discussion on “Moving from Food Aid to Food Security: Embracing Flexibility and Innovation,” on April 8 at the 11th annual International Food Aid Conference in Kansas City, Mo. Leonard said that food aid is one of the most important vehicles that the U.S. government has for promoting global food security.
USDA and USAID jointly hosted the April 6–8 confab at the Westin Crown Center Hotel, which this year had the theme "Fighting Hunger in an Era of Global Economic Crisis."
The economic and food crises present a formidable challenge, as surges in farm input and staple crop prices have helped force an additional 100 million people into poverty. On the first day of the conference, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said the administration plans to double financial aid for agriculture development in poor countries to $1 billion next year.
“We face the reality of a world population that’s growing by 79 million people each year, a rate that may...challenge our capacity to grow and raise enough food,” Vilsack said.
Leonard serves as chairman of the Alliance for Global Food Security, a coalition of 14 NGOs working in food security, and from that platform introduced panelists World Vision Senior Director of International Programs Group Colette Powers, Joint Aid Management President Isak Pretorius and Project Concern International Vice President of Technical Services and Program Development Janine Schooley. The panel emphasized flexibility in targeted food security programming and in achieving an integrated approach to food security.
Such an approach is evident in ACDI/VOCA’s work worldwide at the household and community levels. Ideally it encompasses enhanced food availability, increased access to safe and nutritious food, improved utilization of food and upgraded resiliency to shocks.
The annual conference provides a forum to discuss policy and operational issues related to food aid delivery, as well as ways to improve communication and cooperation among government, NGOs and the agricultural and transportation industries. It also gives food aid representatives an opportunity to discuss food security and access, emergency and chronic food aid, agricultural development, public-private partnerships, the 2008 Farm Bill, trends in commodity and energy supply and demand, nutrition, and supply chain management.
Distinguished speakers this year included
- Tom Vilsack, U.S. secretary of agriculture
- Dirk Dijkerman, USAID acting assistant administrator of the Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance Bureau
- Tony Hall, former U.S. congressman and ambassador to the U.N. agencies in Rome
- Stephen Lewis, AIDS-Free World codirector
- John Herbst, U.S. Department of State coordinator for reconstruction and stabilization
- Edward Cardon, U.S. Army brigadier general and deputy commandant of the Command and General Staff College’s Combined Arms Center in Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
- Allan Jury, World Food Program director of U.S. relations
Numerous ACDI/VOCA staff attended the conference and spent time at the company’s exhibit, where materials showcasing an extensive food security practice were on display.
To learn more about ACDI/VOCA’s position on food security, click here.
