The US Government’s Feed the Future initiative was explained during a presentation by Jonathan Shrier, Acting Special Representative, Office of Global Food Security, at the 3rd Global Conference on Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security and Climate Change held in South Africa.

With the need to increase global agricultural production for a growing population amid climate change and increasing pressure on natural resources, the initiative aims to address the root causes of poverty and hunger.

Feed the Future involves: building bilateral, multilateral and strategic partnerships with private sector and civil society to leverage investments; building resilience by incorporating climate-smart agriculture as a cross-cutting theme; and developing strategies and undertaking research to help smallholder farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.

“Climate-smart agriculture requires an integrated approach that is responsive to local conditions,” said Shrier, adding that the US is working with developing countries to plan for food security in the medium- and long-term in the face of a changing climate.

He cited the example of Zambia, where through Feed the Future and the Global Climate Change Initiative, farmers are being trained in conservation agriculture techniques (such as agroforestry, composting, mulching and crop rotation) while charcoal producers are learning new harvesting techniques that reduce forest destruction.

Partnerships with the private and public sector are important to “catalyze climate-smart agriculture sector development,” said Shrier. They also enable innovation to reach many more farm households.

Underpinning all of this work is research to drive innovation, and the US Government is working with universities, private sector research partners, federal research institutes, and international and national research partners such as the CGIAR and national agricultural research systems to improve the resilience of ecosystems, agricultural systems, communities, and economies to climate change.

Read the full story: Climate, Environment, and Conservation: The 3rd Global Conference on Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security and Climate Change