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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a $466.5 million investment to enhance Global Food Security through its key international development programs. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack revealed the news at the Clinton Global Initiative 2024 annual meeting.

In the fiscal year 2024, USDA will allocate $248 million for the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, supporting initiatives in nine countries to provide school meals and promote literacy and primary education, particularly for girls. Additionally, $218.5 million will be allocated through the Food for Progress program to assist seven countries in improving their agricultural systems, adopting climate smart technologies, increasing productivity sustainably, and expanding international trade.

These programs illustrate USDA’s comprehensive approach to fighting hunger, poverty, and the impacts of the climate crisis globally. By collaborating with public and private sector partners, the agency aims to not only provide food aid but also enhance agricultural productivity, promote climate-smart practices, and bolster trade capacities for food security.

Through these programs, USDA purchases U.S.-grown commodities and supplies them to implementing organizations, such as the United Nations World Food Program. While Food for Progress partners sell the commodities locally to fund development projects, McGovern-Dole partners use them directly for school feeding programs. A portion of the McGovern-Dole allocation will support local and regional procurement to supplement U.S. commodities.

The U.S. remains the top donor to global school feeding programs through the McGovern-Dole Program, benefitting over 1.2 million children and their families in nine countries this year. Similarly, Food for Progress projects will utilize U.S. commodities to benefit nearly 200,000 farmers in seven countries, focusing on areas like climate-Smart Agriculture, food security, and trade facilitation.

For more information on USDA’s international food assistance programs, visit https://fas.usda.gov/topics/food-security. Detailed funding allocations for fiscal year 2024 will be published by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service once contracts are finalized.

USDA continues to uphold its commitment as an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

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