Food security is the basis for sustainable, equitable development.
At the World Food Summit of 1996, participating nations, including the United States, committed halving undernutrition by 2015. The U.S. Action Plan on Food Security, released in March 1999, is our strategy for addressing international hunger reduction goals. Strengthening agriculture is key to any poverty-reduction strategy by raising incomes and improving food security, health and nutrition. Agriculture generates jobs more cost-effectively than other sectors due to its numerous backward and forward linkages. Also, as agricultural becomes more productive, land can be used more intensively, reducing pressure on ecosystems.