Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: A Food Secure 2030.

The world received a “wake-up call” in 2007-2008 when global food prices rose sharply, triggering unrest and instability around the globe.  As part of a worldwide effort, the U.S. Government established Feed the Future, engaging 11 federal departments and agencies in a comprehensive initiative to address the root causes of food insecurity.  Key aspects include a focus on investments prioritized by our partner countries, an emphasis on gender and the role of women in all aspects of food and agriculture, strong engagement of the private sector, and the importance of science and technology.  Overall goals reflect both the productivity and nutrition dimensions of food security, as measured through reduced poverty and reduced child stunting. With more than six years of implementation of Feed the Future programs, millions of farmers have been reached and significant contributions to food security achieved across the 19 focus countries and beyond.  Yet continuing, accelerated gains will be required to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal commitment to end hunger (some 700 million people remain chronically food insecure.) Development and deployment of new technologies of all kinds (genetics, crop and livestock protection, agronomy, new approaches to water management, informational tools) will be required, and given climate change and unpredictability, these innovations will be more important than ever in helping farmers adapt. Sustainable increases in productivity that reduce yield gaps, particularly among smallholders, will not only drive poverty reduction and potentially nutritional gains through improved diets, they will be essential in achieving global environmental goals around reduced deforestation, biodiversity conservation and provision of environmental services.  Research partnerships through the U.S. university-led Feed the Future Innovation labs, USDA and the private sector are key means by which Feed the Future leverages U.S. science in ending hunger and extreme poverty.