I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5656 

To authorize the Feed the Future Initiative to reduce global poverty and 

hunger in developing countries on a sustainable basis, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself and Ms. MCCOLLUM) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To authorize the Feed the Future Initiative to reduce global 

poverty and hunger in developing countries on a sustainable basis, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Feed the Future Glob5 al Food Security Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) For more than 60 years, the United States 

9 has provided consistent global leadership in address10 ing food security and investing in agricultural develVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 Oct 04, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5656.IH H5656

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1 opment, research, innovation and humanitarian as2 sistance, particularly in Africa, Latin America and 

3 South Asia. 

4 (2) Nevertheless, according to the January 

5 2014 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the United 

6 States Intelligence Community report, ‘‘lack of ade7 quate food will be a destabilizing factor in countries 

8 important to United States national security that do 

9 not have the financial or technical abilities to solve 

10 their internal food security problems,’’ and ‘‘food 

11 and nutrition insecurity in weakly governed coun12 tries might also provide opportunities for insurgent 

13 groups to capitalize on poor conditions, exploit inter14 national food aid, and discredit governments for 

15 their inability to address basic needs’’. 

16 (3) According to the most recent estimates of 

17 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the 

18 United Nations, globally more than 805,000,000 

19 people suffer from chronic hunger. In addition, ap20 proximately 165,000,000 (or 1 in 4) children under 

21 the age of 5 are stunted, with 80 percent of the 

22 world’s stunted children living in just 14 countries. 

23 Mounting evidence from several peer-reviewed stud24 ies provide compelling evidence that undernutrition 

25 during the critical first 1,000 day window until age 


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1 two leads to stunting, a lifelong condition of poor 

2 health, impaired cognitive and physical development, 

3 and diminished productivity. 

4 (4) The provision of folic acid as a supplement 

5 to women of childbearing years has resulted in bene6 fits, including a reduction in incidents of autism in 

7 some populations. 

8 (5) The African Union Commission Cost of 

9 Hunger in Africa study estimated that the economic 

10 costs associated with child undernutrition are sub11 stantial—from 2 percent to 16 percent of the gross 

12 national product (GNP) in several African nations. 

13 For instance, this cost was estimated at 

14 $4,700,000,000 in Ethiopia in 2009 alone, which is 

15 the equivalent of 16 percent of Ethiopia’s GNP. 

16 (6) The Feed the Future Initiative (FTF) is 

17 the United States flagship global hunger and food 

18 security program. The primary objectives of FTF 

19 are to improve food security by increasing produc20 tivity and incomes as well as reducing hunger and 

21 to improve nutrition among 140,000,000 of the 

22 world’s poorest people in 19 priority countries. Feed 

23 the Future focuses on improving the lives of 

24 smallholder farmers, especially women and children. 


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1 (7) FTF leverages partnerships with a wide 

2 range of stakeholders—including private voluntary 

3 organizations, universities, faith-based groups, inter4 national and domestic research organizations, com5 munity-based organizations and cooperatives—har6 nesses new innovations and technologies, builds local 

7 capacity and sustainability, links to the global econ8 omy, and adheres to rigor, transparency and ac9 countability. 

10 (8) Its whole-of-government approach to food 

11 security brings together agriculture, economic 

12 growth, trade facilitation, nutrition, development, 

13 and humanitarian programs to achieve unprece14 dented results. For example, preliminary data indi15 cates child stunting rates in Ethiopia have declined 

16 at a 3.3 percent annual rate over the past 3 years, 

17 such that there are currently 160,000 fewer stunted 

18 children in Ethiopia despite population growth over 

19 this period. 

20 (9) In 2013, FTF reached more than 7,000,000 

21 farmers and other food producers resulting in the 

22 employment of new technologies and management 

23 practices on more than 4,000,000 hectares of land. 

24 Also in 2013, the initiative reached more than 

25 12,500,000 children with high impact nutrition 


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1 interventions such as micronutrient supplementation 

2 improving both health and development. 

3 (10) To increase responsible private agricultural 

4 investment, private sector executives and African 

5 leaders launched the New Alliance for Food Security 

6 and Nutrition (New Alliance). Since 2012, the New 

7 Alliance has expanded from three to ten African 

8 countries and approximately 180 African and inter9 national companies have committed to investing over 

10 $10,000,000,000 in African agriculture. 

11 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

12 It is the sense of Congress that United States efforts 

13 to end extreme global poverty should build upon the 

14 progress and successes of the Feed the Future Initiative 

15 in supporting agricultural development and addressing 

16 chronic hunger and malnutrition. 

17 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

18 It is the policy of the United States— 

19 (1) to reduce global poverty and hunger 

20 through a comprehensive food security and nutrition 

21 strategy known as the Feed the Future Initiative 

22 (FTF); 

23 (2) to implement FTF using a whole of govern24 ment approach; 


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1 (3) to promote agricultural development to help 

2 transform local economies, increase political sta3 bility, and expand trade; 

4 (4) to focus on country-led agricultural prior5 ities in partnership with local governments, donor 

6 organizations, multilateral institutions, the private 

7 sector, civil society, and international and university 

8 research institutions in the United States; 

9 (5) to increase the productivity, incomes and 

10 livelihoods of small-scale producers, especially 

11 women, by working across agricultural value chains 

12 and expanding farmer access to local and inter13 national markets; 

14 (6) to promote secure and transparent land 

15 rights in order to enable responsible investment in 

16 agriculture; 

17 (7) to target research, develop new technologies, 

18 utilize extension agents, and improve post-harvest 

19 storage in order to reduce food waste; 

20 (8) to improve the nutrition of women and chil21 dren, with a focus on reducing child stunting; 

22 (9) to expand access to diverse and quality 

23 foods and enhance nutrition-related behaviors that 

24 improve maternal and child health; and 


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1 (10) to increase the resilience of vulnerable 

2 communities and households by building capacity in 

3 safety nets and decreasing the need for emergency 

4 assistance. 

5 SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE TO REDUCE GLOBAL POVERTY AND 

6 HUNGER IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ON A 

7 SUSTAINABLE AND GLOBAL BASIS. 

8 (a) ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting 

10 through the heads of the relevant Federal depart11 ments and agencies specified in paragraph (2), shall 

12 provide assistance to reduce poverty and hunger in 

13 developing countries. To the extent consistent with 

14 the requirements of this Act, such assistance should 

15 be provided in accordance with the terms and condi16 tions of the Federal program known as the ‘‘Feed 

17 the Future Initiative’’ (as such program was in ef18 fect on the day before the date of the enactment of 

19 this Act). 

20 (2) RELEVANT FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS AND

21 AGENCIES.—The relevant Federal departments and 

22 agencies specified in this paragraph are the United 

23 States Agency for International Development, the 

24 Department of Agriculture, the Department of Com25 merce, the Department of State, the Department of 


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1 the Treasury, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, 

2 the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the 

3 Peace Corps, the Office of the United States Trade 

4 Representative, the United States African Develop5 ment Foundation, the United States Geological Sur6 vey, and any other department or agency specified 

7 by the President for purposes of this paragraph. 

8 (3) PROVISIONS OF LAW.—Assistance author9 ized under this subsection that is provided pursuant 

10 to the authorities of section 103, section 103A, title 

11 XII of chapter 2 of part I, and chapter 4 of part 

12 II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

13 2151a, 2151a–1, 2220a et seq., and 2346 et seq.) 

14 may be provided notwithstanding any other provision 

15 of law. 

16 (4) REFERENCE.—Assistance authorized under 

17 this subsection may be referred to as the ‘‘Feed the 

18 Future Initiative’’. 

19 (b) COORDINATION.—The President, acting through 

20 the Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter21 national Development, shall coordinate the efforts of the 

22 relevant Federal departments and agencies under sub23 section (a). 


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1 (c) STRATEGIC APPROACH.—Assistance authorized 

2 under subsection (a) should be provided under a strategic 

3 approach that— 

4 (1) prioritizes the overarching dual objectives; 

5 (A) increasing agricultural productivity, in6 come, and economic growth, with a strong em7 phasis on small-scale producers; and 

8 (B) improving nutrition, especially of 

9 women and children; 

10 (2) takes a whole-of-government approach of 

11 Federal departments and agencies that engage in 

12 some aspect of food security, nutrition security, and 

13 agricultural development; 

14 (3) is driven by country strategies, ownership, 

15 and engagement; 

16 (4) harnesses science, technology, and innova17 tion; 

18 (5) leverages unique partnerships in develop19 ment, including farmers’ organizations, cooperatives, 

20 the private sector, civil society and faith-based orga21 nizations, research entities, and academic institu22 tions; 

23 (6) has a strong focus on women’s economic 

24 empowerment and nutrition; 


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1 (7) builds capacity of local organizations and 

2 institutions; 

3 (8) integrates and strengthens resilience ap4 proaches to ensure that chronically vulnerable popu5 lations are linked to market systems and longer-term 

6 economic growth opportunities; 

7 (9) supports and seeks to align with country8 owned agriculture, nutrition, and food security policy 

9 and investment plans developed with input from rel10 evant governmental and non-governmental sectors 

11 within partner countries and regional bodies, includ12 ing representatives of the private sector, small-scale 

13 producers, and international and local civil society 

14 and faith-based organizations; 

15 (10) gives consideration to integrating agricul16 tural development activities among food insecure 

17 populations living in proximity to designated na18 tional parks or wildlife areas to support wildlife con19 servation efforts; 

20 (11) engages, when appropriate, the expertise of 

21 United States institutions of higher education in col22 laboration with public and private institutions in de23 veloping countries; and 


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1 (12) assesses criteria to determine where agri2 cultural development assistance is no longer re3 quired. 

4 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—Assistance authorized under 

5 subsection (a) should meet the following requirements: 

6 (1) Be consistent with a country-led, multilat7 eral, accountable process, and a comprehensive ap8 proach to agricultural development, nutrition, and 

9 resilience. 

10 (2) Maintain an emphasis on the cross-cutting 

11 issues of nutrition, land tenure, research, technology 

12 innovation, and supporting women farmers. 

13 (3) Engage strong partnerships with the private 

14 sector, educational institutions, and civil society and 

15 faith-based organizations. 

16 (4) Build the capacity of local organizations 

17 and institutions. 

18 (5) Develop community and farmer resiliency to 

19 natural disasters, emergencies, and natural occur20 rences that adversely impact agricultural yield. 

21 (e) MONITORING AND EVALUATION.—Assistance au22 thorized under subsection (a) should be provided under es23 tablished parameters for a rigorous accountability system 

24 to monitor and evaluate progress and impact, including 


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1 by reporting to Congress and the public on an annual 

2 basis. 

3 SEC. 6. REPORT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting through the 

5 Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter6 national Development, should submit to Congress an an7 nual report that details, by fiscal year, the programs and 

8 activities carried out under this Act. 

9 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The report requested by 

11 subsection (a) shall include a summary of significant 

12 issues and developments, the outlook for the next 

13 fiscal year, an analysis of performance and effective14 ness against the results framework, and details of 

15 results and activities with respect to the programs 

16 and related subject areas described in paragraph 

17 (2). 

18 (2) PROGRAMS AND RELATED SUBJECT AREAS

19 DESCRIBED.—The programs and issues described in 

20 this paragraph are the following: 

21 (A) Country and regional programs. 

22 (B) Global and multilateral programs. 

23 (C) Nutrition integration. 

24 (D) Women’s economic empowerment. 


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1 (E) Stakeholder engagement, including list 

2 of partner organizations and description of 

3 their respective roles. 

4 (F) Management and accountability. 

5 (G) Participation and research by United 

6 States and developing country institutions of 

7 higher education. 

8 (H) Policy and program management. 

9 (I) Areas related to private investment in 

10 developing countries and the impact of private 

11 sector investment on economic opportunities 

12 and income of small-scale producers. 

13 (c) ADDITIONAL MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The 

14 report requested by subsection (a) should provide account15 able and transparent information on United States Gov16 ernment performance under this Act. 

17 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Presi19 dent to carry out this Act, for each of the fiscal years 

20 2015, 2016, and 2017, an amount equal to the amount 

21 of funds made available for food security and agricultural 

22 development programs for fiscal year 2014 under section 

23 7060(d) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, 


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1 and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2014 (division 

2 K of Public Law 113–76; 128 Stat. 554). 

Æ 


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