According to a Reuters dispatch, the U.S. government has signed a resolution to bring food security to the forefront of their aid policy for development in Africa. Consequently, agricultural development will become a priority ahead of the traditional measures for development such as trade, the fight against AIDS, and investment.
This decision is a follow-up on the initiatives already taken by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Hillary Clinton, who has raised world food security to the rank of "key element" in the United State’s foreign policy, on the assumption that "hunger threatens the stability of governments, societies and borders”. According to her assistant Johnnie Carson, Secretary of State for African Affairs, the speed with which the decision was taken by the Obama administration demonstrates its high degree of political commitment. "No administration in the last four has come out so early with such a major initiative” he said.
There isn’t a country in the world that has developed without first developing its agriculture, so focusing on this key area is essential for Africa, not only to reduce the number of people who suffer from hunger, but also because food security is a prerequisite for the economic development of a country. The question now is how Washington’s new political position will integrate the current WTO talks... |