HomeUnder Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the EnvironmentRemarks & Releases...Remarks at the VACS-Guatemala DC Launch Event

# 									Remarks at the VACS-Guatemala DC Launch Event							

Remarks

Jose W. Fernandez, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment

Washington, D.C.

June 3, 2024

*As prepared*

Good evening, and welcome friends, colleagues, and current and future partners. I’d like to start by thanking the Guatemalan government, ADM [Archer-Daniels-Midland Company], and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture for bringing us together.

We’re here today because we are facing a global food crisis, a crisis that extends into the Americas. The food crisis is profound on many levels. Prolonged droughts and ever-increasing erratic weather conditions make it difficult for farmers to plan, plant, and harvest nutritious crops. Food systems are disrupted and will be for the foreseeable future. 

Populations are growing, meanwhile climate change and land degradation are decreasing some staple crop yields. By 2050, population in Central America, the Caribbean, and South America will grow by almost 100 million. Food demand will increase, and we need long-term solutions to ensure our communities in the Americas have sustainable agricultural capacity with nutritious food. 

This food crisis impacts the most vulnerable:  over eleven percent of children in Latin America and the Caribbean are facing chronic malnutrition, and at a country level these numbers are even more concerning with approximately 46 percent of children under 5 years in Guatemala suffering from stunting. In Guatemala, twenty one percent of people face severe food insecurity, which is much higher than the already concerning thirteen percent of people facing severe food insecurity throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. 

You know this, but it’s worth repeating:  when children are stunted, that’s a condition that will last the rest of their lives. It’s fundamentally a humanitarian crisis. It’s also an economic and developmental crisis, because no country can prosper if its population cannot realize its full potential.Which is why we are teaming up across governments and with the private sector to tackle this challenge. Almost three months ago in Guatemala, President Arevalo, Minister Estrada, Minister Menkos, Minister Garcia, and IICA joined me in announcing the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils in the Americas, beginning in Guatemala.

The Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils, also known as VACS, seeks to build a resilient food system grounded in diverse, nutritious, and climate adapted crops grown in healthy, fertile soils. VACS focuses on the fundamentals of agricultural production, promoting sustainable land use and building supply and demand for a diverse range of crops.

We know that for crops to be productive they need healthy, fertile soils – and it’s also important to stress that for soils to be productive, they need the right crops. The two are related. We cannot parse out these concepts and address them separately. We need to tackle them together; choosing the right crop that is most appropriate for the soil, both in being productive and in improving the health and fertility of the soil. Through the VACS approach, we can do that.

The United States has contributed to VACS efforts in Africa through our flagship global hunger initiative, Feed the Future. Along with other governments, NGOs [nongovernmental organizations], research centers, and the private sector, we are mobilizing investments, technical assistance, and resources to realize VACS goals. We aim to replicate the same interest and commitment here in the Americas, first in Guatemala. 

With the Guatemalan government and IICA, we are reaching out to leaders across governments, the private sector, civil society, and indigenous and agricultural communities to crowd-source and coordinate funding, resources, and technical assistance. Last week in Guatemala City, we held a workshop to solicit vital feedback from key stakeholders on potential priorities for VACS in Guatemala. Through this and future collaboration, we will mobilize an impactful, sustainable effort.  

Partnership in VACS can take a variety of forms and we welcome the collaboration from you in the room and those who could not be here today. VACS in many ways is a potluck dinner. There are many ways to contribute.

For example, the private sector company Cargill is partnering with CIGAR, through IFPRI-Harvest Plus and CIMMYT, to integrate nutritious indigenous crops into school feeding programs, leading to more than two hundred thousand sustainable and nutritious school meals for Guatemalan children. Efforts like this show the potential and reach of VACS when partnered and multiplied by a collective effort. 

I hope you all will join us in this call to action in the Americas and collaborate with us on the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils. Thank you.

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Bureau of Western Hemisphere AffairsGuatemalaUnder Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment

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