Feed the Future Food Security

Innovation Center

USAID’s New Food Security Innovation Center:

Research Programs and Partnerships

Mississippi State University, January 28, 2014 Rob Bertram, USAID Bureau for Food Security

The Global Challenge

Almost one billion people suffer from chronic hunger

More than 3.5 million children die from undernutrition each year

The world’s population will increase to more than 9 billion by 2050

Food production will have to increase by 60-70% to feed the world

Competition for resources: land, water, energy

Uncertainty: climate change

Global Food Prices

Source: FAO

• Country-led

• Focus on Women and Gender

• Integrate Nutrition and Agriculture

• Support Sustainable Intensification

• Increase Economic Resilience

• Strengthen Capacity of Local Institutions

• M&E to support real-time learning

• Impact analysis to build a strong evidence base

How we work

1. Help farmers produce more

2. Help farmers get more food to market

3. Support Research & Development to improve smallholder agriculture in a changing climate

4. Strengthen Regional Trade

5. Create a better Policy Environment

6. Improve Access to Nutritious Food and Nutrition Services

What we do

Source: Stan Wood et al. (IFPRI) 2009.

Sub-national poverty ca. 2005

(<$1.25/day)

Number

Prevalence

Defining FTF Research Priorities

Using poverty & nutrition lens: Identify

key production systems where hunger

and poverty are significant…

Source: USAID and IFPRI, Harvest Choice maps

Child stunting

• Advancing the productivity frontier

• Transforming key production systems

• Improving nutrition and food safety

Three research themes:

• Indo-gangetic plains in South Asia

• Sudano-sahelien systems in West Africa

• Maize and livestock mixed systems in East and Southern Africa

• Ethiopian highlands

Anchored by key geographies:

Overarching Goal: Sustainable Intensification

Research Strategy

Longer-term Research - Major Themes

1. Heat and drought tolerant, climate adapted cereals

2. Advanced technology solutions for animal and plant diseases

3. Legume productivity for improved nutrition and incomes

Application of Advanced Research for Productivity and Resilience

- Policy, social science and nutrition research (e.g. utilization of food)

- Increased availability and access to high quality foods for improved diets (animal sourced food, horticulture, aflatoxin control)

South Asia Indo-Gangetic Plains

Bangladesh

Maize-mixed East & Southern

Africa

Tanzania

Sudano-Sahelian West

Africa

Ghana

Ethiopian Highlands

Ethiopia

Lon

ger-Term

Inve

stme

nts N

ear-Te

rm Im

pact

Sustainable Intensification of Key Production Systems Complement Mission investments in select value chains

Integrate component technologies, policies, social sciences, nutrition

Research Priorities

Feed the Future Food Security Innovation Center

• Created in response to BIFAD CRSP study recommendations

• Leads USAID’s implementation of FTF Research Strategy in seven

priority research areas

• Encourages a multi-disciplinary approach, better linkages among

related projects, cross-project learning and management

efficiencies

• Engages U.S. universities, international research centers, private

sector, local agricultural research and educational institutions, think

tanks

Challenge: Increase cereal yields and adaption to climate change

for improved feed and fodder production

• Cereals account for approximately two-thirds of all human energy intake

• An estimated 1.2 billion poor people depend on wheat

Solutions:

• Invest in development and dissemination of improved cereals

• Take advantage of emerging biotech and genomic tools

• Partner with private R&D companies and US universities

• Leverage BMGF investments

• Improve fodder quality for dual purpose use

Example Projects:

• Rice, wheat, maize, dryland cereal CRPs

• WSU Improved Wheat for Heat Tolerance

and Climate Resilience

• UC Davis Abiotic Stress Tolerant Millet

Program for Research on

Climate Resilient Cereals

Program for Research

on Legume Productivity

Challenge: Increase productivity and availability of legumes

• Abiotic stresses decrease legume yields by up to 40%

• Pests and diseases can decrease yields by up to 35%

• The grain legume value chain directly benefits women, especially in Africa

Solutions:

• Elevate legumes as major investment area under the research strategy

• Tackle yield, climate resilience and biotic stresses for staple legumes

• Utilize private sector knowledge and skill in

transgenic and emerging genomic tools

Example Projects:

• Grain Legumes Innovation Lab

• Peanut & Mycotoxins Innovation Lab

• Soy Value Chain Innovation Lab

• AATF Bt Cowpea

• CGIAR Grain Legumes CRP

Challenge: Protect animals and tropical staples from major pests

and diseases

• Plant diseases on major food crops cause up to 40% of pre-harvest losses

• Over 90% of the world’s wheat acreage is susceptible to wheat stem rusts

• Over 1.6 billion families depend on livestock for their income and nutrition

Solutions:

• Leverage US science and leadership in advanced genomic/biotech tools

• Utilize transgenic tools for critical plant diseases

• Build public sector capacity to use biotech tools

Example Projects:

• Virus Resistant Cassava for Africa

• East Coast Fever vaccine development (USDA)

• Venganza—Wheat Stem Rust & Mycotoxins

• Late blight resistant potato

• New disease resistant livestock program

Program for Advanced Approaches

to Combat Pests and Diseases

Program for Research on

Safe and Nutritious Foods

Challenge: Sustainably increase production and consumption of

highly nutritious foods and diversify diets

• Fruits, vegetables and animal source foods provide critical micronutrients

for child development

• One third of children under five in low income countries are stunted

• Half of all children and pregnant women are anemic

Solutions:

• Nutrition research on behavior, food utilization and household dynamics

• Research on production/consumption biofortified and nutrient-rich crops

• Develop options to strengthen post harvest handling and food safety

• Invest in horticulture, animal sourced food value chains

Example Projects:

• Meat, Milk & Fish and Nutrition CRPs

• Horticulture, Livestock, AquaFish & Nutrition

Innovation Labs

• World Vegetable Center

Program for Policy and Markets

Research and Support

Challenge: Create supportive agricultural policy environments

• Help countries embrace predictable, inclusive, evidence-based and

transparent policy formulation and implementation

Solutions:

• Work with host-country governments and multilateral institutions to

improve enabling policy environments

• Address land and natural resource governance and resilience policy,

nutrition policy constraints.

• Improve function of and access to markets

Example Projects:

• Feed the Future Policy Plan

• Assets and Market Access Innovation Lab

• Program for Biosafety Systems

• New Alliance partnerships

Program for Human and

Institutional Capacity Development

Challenge: Professional and organizational capacities are

inadequate to address agricultural challenges and opportunities

• Public agricultural institutions are weak

• Private sector needs skilled employees

• Experienced faculty and managers are retiring

• Women hold few management positions

Solutions:

• Strengthen human and institutional capital base

• Support best practice development

• Support women in agricultural research

• Develop human skills through fellowships and long-term degree training

Example Projects:

• InnovATE – Agricultural Training & Education

• African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD)

• Borlaug Higher Education for Agricultural Research and Development

Program for Sustainable

Intensification

Challenge: Fundamentally Transform Key Production Systems

• In Africa, 65% of agricultural land suffers from physical and chemical

degradation

• African cereal and milk yields are less than half the global average

Solutions:

• Integrate research outputs, policy and nutrition in production systems

• Focus multiple interventions within targeted geographic areas

• Diversify major production systems with improved crops and animals

• Evaluate and disseminate improved soil and water management practices

Example Projects:

• Integrated Pest Management Innovation Lab

• Africa RISING

• Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia

• Sustainable Agriculture and NRM Innovation Lab

Program for Sustainable

Intensification

Total Factor Productivity Growth Makes Land More Productive

rea

South Asia Sub-Saharan Africa Yield Yield

Are

a

Feed the Future Innovation Lab

for Collaborative Research on:

Adapting Livestock Systems to Climate Change – Colorado

State Aquaculture & Fisheries - Oregon State University

Assets & Market Access – University of California, Davis

Grain Legumes - Michigan State University

Horticulture – University of California, Davis

Integrated Pest Management – Virginia Polytechnic

Nutrition – Tufts University

Peanut & Mycotoxin – University of Georgia

Sorghum & Millet – Kansas State University

Sustainable Agriculture & Natural Resource Management –

Virginia Polytechnic

CGIAR Consortium

• Enhanced roles, new program areas

• Expanded institutional involvement

• Public-private/international alliances

Thematic Partnerships:

• Climate resilient crops (cereals, legumes, soy value chains)

• Livestock health and climate resilience

• Small-scale irrigation

• Post-harvest loss reduction

• Policy

Target subject areas:

Title XII: Engaging U.S. universities in 6 priority focus areas

USAID FTF Research RFA

Soy – Emerging crop for

African smallholders • Priority in FTF research strategy &

FTF countries

• Nutrition emphasis (food/feed)

• Beyond utilization to whole value

chain

• Key traits for wider use (diseases,

abiotic stress, etc.)

• Consortium: UIUC, UMo, MSU

Livestock: Climate and Disease

Advanced Research

–Vaccine development

–Genomic analysis

Genetics:

– Newcastle Disease in chickens

– African swine fever

– Heat/drought tolerance

Target diseases:

– African Swine Fever, Bovine

Pleuropneumonia, Rift Valley

Fever, Trypanosomiasis, Peste

des Petit Ruminants

Grain handling and storage

Cold-chain management: meat, fish

Breaking down SPS barriers

Controlling post-harvest pests/disease

Food preservation, esp. by women

Post-Harvest Losses

• Small-scale technologies and practices

• Utilization of groundwater

• Water quality/water-use trade-offs

• Access to irrigation technologies

• Links to development investments/implementation

• Risk-reduction

• Livestock opportunities

Water and Food Security Intersection

Small-scale Irrigation

FTF Innovation Lab on

Sustainable Intensification

e-Forum Topics:

Agricultural Systems Analysis

Ensuring Rigorous Science & Data Management

Scientific & Local Knowledge Integration & Scaling Out

Integrated Productivity & Natural Resource Management

Comparative Advantage of U.S. Universities

Summary Report: http://agrilinks.org/agexchange/agexchange-resource/summary-report-research-priorities-sustainable-intensification

e-Forum Topics:

IPM Research & Programmatic Focus

Human & Institutional Capacity Development for IPM Research

Transfer of IPM Technologies to the Field: Reaching Farmers at Scale

Comparative Advantage of U.S. Universities

Summary Report: http://agrilinks.org/agexchange/agexchange-resource/summary-and-synthesis-e-consultation-examining-integrated-pest-management-research-priorities

FTF Innovation Lab on

Integrated Pest Management

Biotechnology in Agriculture

Complexity—Science, Partnership, Public-Private, Consumers

1.Science-Innovation-Use value/linkage chain

2.Risk Management/Regulatory

3.Stakeholder analysis

4.Credibility

5.Constancy—Need to be there Trust

6.Approach to engagement

7.Govt-Civil Society Interactions

30

Where does biotechnology add value in

sustainable intensification?

Improved nutritional quality through

biofortification of cereals/legumes

(including as fodder)

Tolerance to higher temperatures

(including modifying transpiration)

Improved photosynthetic efficiency

(on the longer horizon)

More efficient uptake of water,

including tolerance to moderate drought

More efficient usage of soil nitrogen

(both organic and synthetic)

Tolerant of more saline soils & brackish

water (including removing salt from soils)

Reduce tillage through biotech-enabled

weed management

Biotechnology potential in

smallholder agriculture

Partnership critical for AR4D

AR4D

Civil Society

Public Sector

Private Sector

Research along the value chain

On-farm productivity research

Breeding

Agronomy

Farm animal management

Crop Protection/Animal Health

Technology adoption research

Postharvest handling/Marketing research

Economics of:

• Harvest practices

• Storage

• End-user market opportunities/quality requirements

Utilization research

Developing new processes/products

Addressing nutrition goals with food technology and recipe formulation

Partner outreach in each area facilitates technology uptake

Gender in Value Chains

• Gender equity enhances competitiveness

–Social context important

–Changes affect gender roles

–Diagnose gender-based constraints

–Include men in decision-making

–Enhance women’s roles from

production through to marketing

New Alliance for Food

Security & Nutrition

Launched at 2012 G8 Summit at Camp David

Commitment by G8 members, African countries &

private sector partners

Goal: Lift 50 million people out of poverty over the

next 10 years

• Technology Platform to accelerate adoption of

technologies.

• Scaling Seeds and Technologies partnership

• Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to

advance technology adoption

Remarks by Administrator Rajiv Shah to the CGIAR Board of Directors Friday, December 7, 2012 Nearly fifty years ago, when USAID Administrator William Gaud coined the term Green Revolution, he was speaking not just about t he new varieties of wheat and rice, but about the vast potential of agricultural technology to open new frontiers in development. It wasn’t long before the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) was formed. The CGIAR was a response to a growing recognition that a worldwide network of agricultural research centers was needed to carry on the ideals of the Green Revolution. Today, we have technologies that can help farmers grow more productive crops and improve water management. The evidence base is growing around a select number of technologies that—if taken to scale—can impact tens of millions of lives.

But those technologies are not reaching nearly enough farmers.

Scaling Technologies

Scaling Up Plans

37

Country Technology Scaling Strategies

Scaling Action Plans

Technology Matrices

FtF Portfolio Reviews/

Mission Input

Country Investment

Plans

Scaling strategies defined

(1) Key “scalable” technologies

(2) Constraints to adoption

(3) Gender aspects of technology

Action Plans defined

(1) Pathway/steps in scaling

(2) Key agents

(3) Targets and timeline for

scaling

(4) Results on income/food

security

Policy?

Existing Programs?

Partnership

Opportunities?

Please See our Feed the Future Website

Thank You!

www.feedthefuture.gov