Task Force on Food Security

Phase I

In July of 2008, the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) rapidly assembled a task force, co-chaired by Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Robert Casey (D-PA), to assess the factors shaping the global food crisis. The Task Force issued a report with recommendations for targeted, short-term policy actions to alleviate the rising humanitarian and security impacts of the crisis, calling for the United States to provide global leadership.

The CSIS report informed the policy discussion with regard to food security that produced legislative initiatives such as the Global Food Security Act, introduced September 22, 2008, by Senators Lugar and Casey.  You can find the report here.

Phase II

The CSIS Task Force on Global Food Security has entered its second phase, examining long-term issues in order to propose additional policy approaches on trade, productivity, and research and development that can effectively enhance global food security.

Trade Negotiations after Setbacks in the Doha Round:

Our initial task force agreed that trade negotiations are essential, and the U.S. needs to take a leadership role. This phase will examine in greater detail the issue of trade, with a particular focus on the Doha Round and what strategies the United States can enlist to productively engage key countries. The Task Force will assess progress from Doha round negotiations and ways the United States can effectively re-engage on trade, either through the resumption of Doha negotiations or through a series of development-focused trade policy steps outside the structure of the formal negotiations. Our discussions will be informed and guided by leading trade experts with experience in the negotiations and an understanding of U.S. political sensitivities.

Agricultural Research & Development:

U.S. public investment in agricultural research and development has lagged behind investment in research for health and other sciences. Private entities are investing in agriculture, but a structured, enhanced public component is necessary to meet the challenges of feeding a growing population and dealing with the effects of climate change. Advances in agricultural science hold tremendous promise, but require vision, enthusiasm and a long-term, sustained public commitment. We will assess the current state of the U.S. agricultural research and development agenda and discuss emerging threats to agricultural productivity, including climate-related challenges, pests, and diseases. We will also explore emerging opportunities available from research, including drought- and heat-resistant crops and micronutrient fortification.

Raising Agricultural Productivity:

The Task Force aims to provoke debate and offer recommendations for effectively increasing productivity, including technology, access to credit available, infrastructure, and educational partnerships. It will seek to identify examples of success and innovation in the field and profile instances in which partner governments in the developing world are prioritizing agricultural productivity. It will evaluate the success of current U.S. efforts, including the Millennium Challenge Corporation and its compacts aimed at boosting agricultural productivity. We will also examine approaches to using soil and water more efficiently in a time of increasing water scarcity.

Senators Richard Lugar and Robert Casey, along with Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) and a Republican colleague, will co-chair the Task Force. CSIS will release a report with recommendations on each of these areas in late 2009.