Obama’s promise to increase U.S. aid for agricultural development a victory ...

Commentary: President Obama must ensure that G-20 meeting looks beyond wealthy countries’ economies

Washington, D.C., April 02, 2009—International relief organization World Vision welcomes President Obama's announcement today at the G-20 summit that he intends to double U.S. assistance for global agricultural productivity and rural development. President Obama also called for a comprehensive food security strategy to alleviate chronic hunger that affects one-sixth of the world’s population.

“This is truly a victory for the poor,” said Robert Zachritz, World Vision’s director for advocacy and government relations in the U.S. “The cost of the President's proposal on global hunger is one-tenth of one percent of the economic stimulus plans passed over the last year in Congress to address the economic crisis in the United States. Clearly one-tenth of one percent is something the U.S. can afford to spend to save millions of lives.”

“Local farmers in the world's poorest countries need real solutions for food security. The financial crisis has taken a great toll on poor countries and their food markets have been devastated. No money means no food, and no food means desperation,” Zachritz continued.

"Violence, participation in armed groups, the spread of AIDS, family breakdown, substandard education and myriad other problems—with economic and security ramifications for the U.S.—find hunger at their roots,” said Zachritz.

The global economic and food crises have resulted in nearly one billion people worldwide suffering from chronic hunger. Only one year ago, that number was at around 850 million people.

“It's absolutely critical that the world's richest nations—and especially the United States—do not neglect the world's poorest during these tough economic times,” said Zachritz.

World Vision has also been active in calling for passage of the Lugar-Casey Global Food Security Act, which calls for a comprehensive food security strategy as well as doubling agriculture development resources. The bill would increase funding for overseas agricultural development and nutrition by $2.5 billion over existing levels. The bill moves to the full Senate next, after approval by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.

“With the President's announcement today, World Vision calls on the full Senate to act on the Lugar-Casey bill before the G-8 meeting in Italy this July,” said Zachritz.

World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty. We serve the world’s poor regardless of a person’s religion, race, ethnicity or gender. For more information, please visit www.worldvision.org/press