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[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 2, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9388-9389]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-4285]

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AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Board for International Food and Agricultural Development; One 
Hundred and Fifty-Ninth Meeting; Notice of Meeting

    Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, notice is hereby 
given of the one hundred and fifty-ninth meeting of the Board for 
International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD). The meeting 
will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 3, 2010 at the National 
Press Club located at 529 14th St., NW., Washington, DC. ``Higher 
Education: A Critical Partner in Global Agricultural Development'' will 
be the central theme of BIFAD's initiatives and the March meeting.
    Dr. Robert Easter, Chairman of BIFAD, will preside over the 
proceedings. Dr. Easter is Interim Chancellor for the University of 
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
    The confirmation of Dr. Rajiv Shah as USAID's new administrator 
will define the work of BIFAD, consistent with

[[Page 9389]]

BIFAD's legislative mandate, for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, 
the 159th BIFAD meeting will attempt to respond to Dr. Shah's 
priorities. Dr. Shah brings a strong background in global food security 
issues. Within this context comes the recognition that only through 
broad-based partnerships and multidisciplinary approaches will the US 
achieve priority foreign assistance goals in a dramatically changed 
development world. It is in the spirit of the Title XII mandates and in 
view of today's development realities, underpinned by complex socio-
economic conditions and regional conflicts, that BIFAD is leading as a 
``gateway'' to the university community.
    It is expected that Dr. Shah will participate in the meeting and 
present to the Board his vision and priorities for the Agency. If the 
situation in Haiti or other unanticipated contingencies preclude him 
from attending, Karen Turner, the Director of the Office of Development 
Partners or Carol Grigsby, the Office's Deputy Director, will represent 
the Administrator. In the event that new BIFAD members are announced, 
there is a possibility that they could be officially sworn in by 
Administrator Shah, or Director Turner or Deputy Director Grigsby.
    The Board and USAID have been collaborating closely to develop a 
Memorandum of Understanding to define our strategic partnership. The 
purpose of the MOU is to set forth the understandings and intentions of 
USAID and BIFAD with regard to shared goals and to mobilize the 
capacities of U.S. universities to implement program components under 
Section 103 (Agriculture, Rural Development and Nutrition) and 103A 
(Agriculture Research) of the Foreign Assistance Act. Five key areas 
were identified for maximum collaboration: USG Food Security Strategy 
and Program; USG Global Climate Change Strategy and Program; Education 
and Training for Youth; Afghanistan/Pakistan Agriculture Strategy and 
Program; and Rebuilding USAID Technical Capacity. The MOU was vetted 
during the last BIFAD meeting in October. It should be ready for 
signing during the 159th meeting with a brief ceremony.
    Next, Gebisa Ejeta, last year's World Food Prize recipient, will 
present to the Board a presentation, ``Food Security: the Science, 
Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food.'' He 
will emphasize the critical need to strengthen science-based thinking 
within development planning and implementation and rational decision-
making into the policy formulation process. Dr. Ejeta is currently at 
Purdue University. Dr. Easter will also be making a presentation, with 
possible responder to Dr. Ejeta.
    During 2009, the Board held a number of sessions and activities 
related to the agricultural strategy for Afghanistan and how 
universities can help USAID turn battle space into development space. 
This session will provide an update on the Trilateral Af-Pak process, 
building towards a conference later this spring in Doha, Qatar. The 
conference will bring together university representatives managing on-
the-ground agricultural projects in Afghanistan with key Afghans and 
Pakistanis, to develop a 5 year plan for integrating long-term 
agricultural training and capacity building into the agricultural 
development strategy.
    The devastating earthquake in Haiti will be the focus of a session 
to demonstrate how BIFAD and universities can bring value to USAID on 
Haiti, as well as the Caribbean region. The session will be led by 
Board member Dr. Elsa Murano, University of Texas. Walter Bowen, Acting 
Director, International Programs. Institute of Food and Agricultural 
Sciences, University of Florida, will share some experiences University 
of Florida has had in Haiti. His project, Watershed Initiative for 
National Natural Environmental Resources, is aimed at implementing 
broad scale investments in sustainable natural resource management at 
the scale and density needed to produce future positive landscape level 
reductions in environmental, infrastructural, and economic 
vulnerability. The Latin America and Caribbean Bureau (LAC) at USAID 
will be intimately involved, and there will be discussion on wider 
application throughout the Caribbean region.
    Concluding the morning session, John Becker, USAID Office of 
Development Partners, will make a presentation and lead discussion on 
application of the Bumpers Amendment. The Bumpers Amendment forbids the 
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) from giving 
money to any program that would increase the production of a crop that 
could compete with the United States on the world market.
    After an executive luncheon (closed to the public) the Board will 
re-convene. Scheduled as the afternoon's first session will be a 
follow-on to the Board's efforts to highlight the critical role that 
Minority Serving Institutions continue to play in international 
agricultural development, particularly in improving the livelihood of 
small farmers. William DeLauder, Board member and President-Emeritus of 
Delaware State University, will lead the session. This discussion is 
being designed to open a new dialogue and begin exploring effective 
partnering with USAID.
    Following the MSI panel, Montague Demment, Director, Global 
Livestock Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP), will lead a 
discussion on the Borlaug Leap Program and other BIFAD long-term 
training activities, in cooperation with USAID's Economic Growth, 
Agricultural, and Trade Bureau (EGAT). These are very important 
programs that help build human and institutional capacity in 
agriculture.
    Concluding the afternoon session, the Board will hear an update on 
BIFAD's efforts to establish a Joint Committee on Operations, as called 
for in Title XII, to increase the technical capacity of the Board. Such 
a Committee would replace the Strategic Partnership for Agricultural 
Research and Education (SPARE). Ray Miller, Director of International 
Programs, University of Maryland, will lead the discussion.
    The Board meeting is open to the public. The Board welcomes open 
dialogue to promote greater focus on critical issues facing USAID, the 
role of universities in development, and applications of U.S. 
scientific, technical and institutional capabilities to international 
agriculture. Note on Public Comments: Due to time constraints public 
comments to the Board will be limited to three (3) minutes to 
accommodate as many as possible. It is preferred to have requests for 
comments submitted to the Board in writing. Two periods for public 
comment will be provided during the Board meeting--just before lunch 
and adjournment.
    Those wishing to attend the meeting or obtain additional 
information about BIFAD should contact Dr. Ronald S. Senykoff, 
Executive Director and Designated Federal Officer for BIFAD. Write him 
in care of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Ronald Reagan 
Building, Office of Development Partners, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, 
NW., Room 6.7-153, Washington, DC 20523-2110 or telephone him at (202) 
712-0218 or fax (202) 216-3124.

Ronald S. Senykoff,
Executive Director and USAID Designated Federal Officer for BIFAD, 
Office of Development Partners, U.S. Agency for International 
Development.
[FR Doc. 2010-4285 Filed 3-1-10; 8:45 am]
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