On October 31, Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman participated in the annual Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation in Des Moines, Iowa to highlight the U.S. government's ongoing commitment to boosting food security and economic growth in Africa.
Deputy Administrator Coleman delivered remarks on USAID's robust support for food security in Africa through Feed the Future , the U.S. government's global hunger initiative, and called for bold measures and effective private sector partnerships to unlock agriculture-led economic growth on the African continent. She emphasized the recently announced Feed the Future Accelerator initiative , an effort to focus resources on three countries in Southern and Eastern Africa - Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia - with potential to become regional breadbaskets and deepen food security on the continent. She urged further action to create even more stable environments for private sector-led growth, including reducing trade barriers and establishing more predictable policy environments.
Deputy Administrator Coleman met with the President of Tanzania Her Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan to discuss Tanzania's democratic trajectory in view of forthcoming elections. They also spoke about agricultural investments in sub-Saharan Africa through the Feed the Future Accelerator, aimed at agricultural transformation in the country and stabilizing the regional food supply. Deputy Administrator Coleman also met with the President of Sierra Leone His Excellency Julius Maada Bio to reaffirm the United States partnership with Sierra Leone in the sectors of energy, health, and governance. During the meeting, President Bio shared his approach on promoting agriculture-led economic growth in the country.
During the Borlaug International Dialogue, USAID announced $57 million in new investments for Feed the Future Innovation Labs to draw on the expertise of top U.S. universities and host country research institutions to tackle some of the world's greatest challenges in agriculture and food security.
