Remarks by Under Secretary for International Affairs Lael Brainard on Global Agriculture and Food Security

The need for global action to strengthen food security is clear.  With food prices again high and increasingly volatile, and in the face of ongoing climate change impacts, rural households in the world’s poorest countries are increasingly exposed to global price swings, and forces of demand and supply far beyond their borders.   

We all recognize agricultural development is an effectiveanti-poverty strategy. It is a foundation for social stability. It can play an important role in achieving gender equity. And it has served as a stepping stone to broader improvements in productivity and living standards in almost all successful economic growth stories. 

To make a difference, our investments in food security must be targeted and effective. They must spur long-term transformations that enable smallholder farmers to grow more and earn more.