113 HR 2822 IH: Global Food Security Act of 2013
U.S. House of Representatives
2013-07-25
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.Short title; table of
contents
(a)This Act may be cited as the Global Food Security Act of
2013
.
(b)The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Title I—Policy objectives, planning and coordination
Sec. 101. Statement of policy.
Sec. 102. Comprehensive global food security
strategy.
Sec. 103. Reports.
Title II—Bilateral programs
Sec. 201. Agriculture, rural development, and
nutrition.
Sec. 202. Agricultural and nutrition research.
2.Congress makes the following
findings:
(1)Food and nutrition
security is a foundation of development. Persistent hunger and malnutrition
stunt the mental and physical development of the next generation and hinder
education, health, economics and security.
(2)More than
870,000,000 people worldwide suffer from chronic food insecurity. Food
insecurity and malnutrition in developing countries forces tens of millions of
people into poverty, contributes to political and social instability, erodes
economic growth, and undermines United States foreign assistance investments in
areas including basic education, global health, environmental protection, and
democratic institutions.
(3)According to the
March 2013 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, food
insecurity is a worldwide threat: Growing food insecurity in weakly
governed countries could lead to political violence and provide opportunities
for existing insurgent groups to capitalize on poor conditions, exploit
international food aid, and discredit governments for their inability to
address basic needs
.
(4)In the next 30
years, as the world’s population increases to nine billion people, agricultural
productivity will need to double to keep pace with demand. Countries that are
major agricultural exporters have greatly enhanced productivity over the past
two decades, but many developing countries with good potential to improve their
agricultural economies have not. Improving agricultural productivity in those
countries in a sustainable and equitable manner will increase world food
supplies and accelerate economic growth and incomes, while preserving natural
habitat and resources.
(5)Malnutrition
remains one of the world’s most pressing and costly problems—close to
200,000,000 children are chronically malnourished. Undernutrition is
responsible for 45 percent of child deaths, and eleven percent of the total
global disease burden is attributable to maternal and child undernutrition.
According to the Lancet more than 1 in 4 of the world’s children is stunted.
Stunting leads to serious, often irreversible physical and cognitive
damage.
(6)Reducing maternal
and child malnutrition, especially during the 1,000 days between pregnancy and
age 2, is critical to increasing child survival, improving cognitive and
physical development, and strengthening the immune system to bolster resistance
to disease.
(7)Many pregnant
women living in developing countries cannot access nutrition services until the
fifth or sixth month of their pregnancies, leading to children born small for
their gestational age. For this reason, improving the nutritional status of
women and adolescent girls before and during pregnancy is vitally important.
(8)The greatest
potential for achieving increased food and nutrition security for people in
rural areas and augmenting world food production at relatively low cost lies in
increasing the agricultural capacity, resilience, sustainability and
productivity of smallholder farmers. Farmers should be actively engaged at all
stages of education, participatory research and extension processes.
(9)The most promising
and scalable gains in smallholder agriculture production will come from the
delivery of seed, fertilizer, and basic farmer extension education on farming
techniques, such as row planting of crops.
(10)According to the
World Bank, growth in the agricultural sector has been twice as effective in
reducing poverty as growth in other sectors. In sub-Saharan Africa agriculture
contributes about 35 percent of the total gross national product (GNP).
Approximately 75 percent of the workforce in sub-Saharan Africa is engaged in
the agricultural sector and three out of five of those suffering from hunger
are rural, small-scale agriculturists. Thus, nutrition, agriculture and rural
development strategies must include engagement of and provision of assistance
to smallholder producers. Interventions to enhance agricultural productivity,
conserve natural resources, and provide linkages to services, inputs, financing
and markets for smallholder agricultural producers is an effective means of
increasing and diversifying food supplies, improving incomes and preserving
natural habitat.
(11)Agriculture
development to increase the yield, biodiversity and resilience of smallholder
farmers is an efficient engine of sustainable economic growth, and benefits
these farmers’ education, income, and health.
(12)Agriculture is
essential for economic growth, comprising large portions of the total labor
force in many developing countries. The agricultural sector is as high as 70 to
80 percent in sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly one-half of the world’s food
insecure live. In this region agriculture also contributes about 35 percent of
the total gross national product (GNP).
(13)Post-harvest
losses can waste 40 percent of agriculture products and negatively impact
nutritional content of crops. A renewed focus on reducing post-harvest losses
is needed to meet the goal of increasing income generation from agricultural
production.
(14)Women produce as much as 80 percent of food
in sub-Saharan Africa, but have access to less than 10 percent of land, credit,
and extension services. Women comprise 43 percent of the agricultural labor
workforce in developing countries. They make up a large proportion of
smallholder farmers, including 80 percent in East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa,
and face unique challenges and heightened vulnerability to food and nutrition
insecurity. Increasing women’s leadership, incomes, and access to food benefits
the entire household as women are more likely to share these resources with
family members.
(15)The International
Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and others have documented growing
numbers of acquisitions and lease agreements of millions of acres of land in
Africa, Latin America, and Central and Southeast Asia by private investors and
foreign governments. These land acquisitions may threaten global food and
nutrition security and agricultural development, increase political unrest, and
deepen local poverty in developing nations unless adequate legal and procedural
mechanisms are in place and functioning to protect the rights and welfare of
people who depend on agriculture for their livelihood.
(16)The accelerating
loss and degradation of natural ecosystems in developing countries and changing
long-term weather patterns undermine and impact efforts to improve sustainable
agricultural production. According to the World Bank, changing weather patterns
could reduce yields in some developing countries by as much as 50 percent. This
could leave millions more children undernourished.
(17)A comprehensive
approach to long-term food security and agricultural development should
encompass improvements in agricultural education, agricultural productivity,
agricultural extension, nutrition, household incomes, rural infrastructure,
finance and markets, safety net programs, job creation, research and
technology, emergency relief, global health and the environment.
3.In this Act:
(1)The
term Administrator means the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development.
(2)The term agricultural development means
methods to use agriculture as a basis for food and nutrition security, family
livelihood, and economic growth by increasing the productivity of those
involved in the cultivation of food, fuel, and fiber, conserving the
environment and natural resources, and improving the economic livelihoods of
those involved, including farmers, fishers, foresters, and pastoralists,
particularly those that operate on a small scale, and linking them and their
products to markets, including post-harvest activities such as storage,
processing, transport, and improving market efficiency.
(3)Appropriate
congressional committeesThe term appropriate congressional
committees means—
(A)the Committee on
Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
(B)the Committee on
Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(4)The term chronic food insecurity means
ongoing and persistent lack of access to sufficient food to meet dietary needs
for an active and healthy life.
(5)The term ecosystem services means natural
goods, services, and processes that the environment provides and on which
people depend and from which they benefit, such as pollination, water cycles
and regulation, pest control, and soil formation.
(6)The term extreme poverty means income of
less than one-half of the poverty level as defined by the International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development for the relevant year.
(7)The term food security means the condition
of having, at all times, access to nutritious, affordable, sufficient, and safe
food to maintain a healthy and active life.
(8)The
term malnutrition means poor nutritional status caused by
nutritional deficiency or excess.
(9)The
term resilience means the ability of people, households,
communities, countries and systems to mitigate, adapt to, recover from, and
withstand events that result in social disruption and economic hardship.
(10)The term rural infrastructure—
(A)means public and
private facilities and services necessary for agricultural production and other
activities in non-urban (rural) areas; and
(B)includes roads or
other means of transportation, water supplies including irrigation, rural
electrification, communication technology, financial services, storage,
warehousing, and processing facilities needed for increasing agricultural
production and linking producers to markets, including policies and regulations
of such sectors in addition to physical infrastructure.
(11)The
term smallholder refers to farmers with a low asset base, limited
resources including land, capital, skills and labor, and farming less than 5
hectares of land.
(12)The term strategy
means the
United States Comprehensive Global Food Security strategy outlined in section
102.
(13)The terms stunted
and
stunting mean a condition—
(A)of being too short
for one’s age, with a height-to-age ratio that is more than 2 standard
deviations below the median for the population;
(B)caused by poor
diet and frequent infections, occurring before age 2, and is a sign of chronic
malnutrition; and
(C)leading to
long-term poor health, delayed motor development, and impaired cognitive
function and decreased immunity.
(14)The
term undernutrition—
(A)means several
outcomes of insufficient food intake, such as being underweight for one’s age,
too short for one’s age (stunted), dangerously thin for one’s height (wasted),
or deficient in vitamins and minerals (micronutrient malnutrition); and
(B)can be identified
by anthropometric indices (underweight, stunting, and wasting) or by the
missing micronutrients in poor-quality diets.
(15)The term Voluntary Guidelines means the
Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and
Forests in the Context of National Food Security, adopted with the leadership
of the United States throughout the negotiation process, in May 2012 at the
Special 38th Session of the United Nations Committee on Global Food Security.
The objective of the Voluntary Guidelines is to improve food security through
land governance for the benefit of all, with an emphasis on vulnerable and
marginalized people.
(16)The
term wasting, with respect to an individual, means the condition
of weighing too little for such individual’s height. Wasting indicates both
long- and short-term nutritional deprivation. Wasting is a traumatic process of
substantial weight loss that is usually associated with starvation or serious
disease. Wasting is calculated by comparing a child’s weight-for-height with
those of a reference population of well-nourished and healthy children. Because
wasting is strongly related to mortality, wasting rates are often used to
indicate the severity of hunger emergencies.
<enum>I</enum><header>Policy objectives,
planning and coordination</header>
<section id="H12C5E9D0849746A5ACB57B7BDC83D24F"><enum>101.</enum><header>Statement of
policy</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">It is the policy of the
United States to assist foreign countries in achieving food and nutrition
security by increasing sustainable and equitable agricultural production,
improving nutrition, and strengthening agricultural value chains, with a focus
on smallholder farmers, in order to reduce global hunger, malnutrition and
poverty, promote rural development, and improve the nutritional status of all
people.</text>
</section><section id="HB3645FDBD2DF424AAE4925D17EAFE451"><enum>102.</enum><header>Comprehensive
global food security strategy</header>
<subsection id="HB5C4CE2E6D324990AEFD2A52CDA24E3A"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Special
coordinator</header><text>The President shall designate an individual to serve
in the Executive Office of the President as the Special Coordinator for Food,
Nutrition and Agricultural Development. The coordinator shall—</text>
<paragraph id="H0F319AEF690C4663956C50F923B6656F"><enum>(1)</enum><text>advise the
President on global food security, nutrition security, and agricultural
development;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HA67224BF732840BFBAE44FF87C549C81"><enum>(2)</enum><text>take such actions
as are necessary to ensure the coordination of programs of the United States
related to global food security, nutrition security, and agricultural
development efforts, including those resulting from contributions to
multilateral organizations and nongovernmental organizations;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HB2BAB52AD9904D82B03E843DBBBB33C6"><enum>(3)</enum><text>make
recommendations regarding the staffing needs and necessary qualifications and
expertise of staff needed to swiftly and effectively carry out the strategy
described in subsection (c);</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HDC40F217156340AF9D5B45F6F042B6DD"><enum>(4)</enum><text>establish a
mechanism for regular consultation with representatives of Federal departments
and agencies, multilateral institutions, private voluntary organizations,
cooperatives, the private sector, and other nongovernmental organizations to
develop the strategy described in subsection (c) and to consult on
methodologies, conditions in targeted countries, progress towards goals and
other relevant information about needs and interventions; and</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H8DF98EF3C4AB40A98758FFCDE7C02678"><enum>(5)</enum><text>oversee the
development and implementation of the strategy described in subsection
(c).</text>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="H1F85795AB7C0437A98ECEDA39A30A237"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Implementation</header><text>The
United States Agency for International Development shall be the lead agency in
implementing the strategy described in subsection (c).</text>
</subsection><subsection id="H36D6F3CAD3E9448595D8D391A32A740F"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Content of
strategy</header><text>The strategy described in this subsection is a
comprehensive food security, nutrition security, and agricultural development
strategy that shall—</text>
<paragraph id="HA778CA0109B8405D84D27C29F71FD68B"><enum>(1)</enum><text>recognize food
security and nutrition as essential contributors to global development, health,
peace and stability;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H64AFCCDC42B5483C8B50FE241752E628"><enum>(2)</enum><text>reflect a
whole-of-government approach that incorporates and encompasses the programs of
relevant Federal departments and agencies that engage in some aspect of food
security, nutrition security, agricultural development, and international
health, including the Department of State, the United States Agency for
International Development, the Peace Corps, the Department of Agriculture, the
Department of Defense, the Department of Interior, the Millennium Challenge
Corporation, the Department of the Treasury, and the Office of the United
States Trade Representative;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H45B7736920CE46B58DDF9BD9C74BF7A0"><enum>(3)</enum><text>integrate and
coordinate the stages of emergency food aid and long-term development programs
to more effectively reduce hunger, improve nutrition, improve health, and build
economic capacity and resilience among food insecure populations, especially
for smallholder farmers;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HB3960076AC3B490F88E9F98B1C5089E5"><enum>(4)</enum><text>increase and
improve agricultural production and availability, access, utilization, and
stability of food among women and smallholder farmers in order to decrease
poverty and hunger, improve health, and prevent stunting, as the most direct
means for achieving household food and nutrition security;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H8C1FD8E2B63F414EB922C24AAEC29122"><enum>(5)</enum><text>increase the yield
and capacity of smallholder farmers, through access to seed and fertilizer,
assistance for sustainable agricultural production, village-level farming
groups, farmer-to-farmer knowledge exchanges, agriculture value chains,
agricultural extension agents, market access, innovative intellectual property
frameworks, food safety nets for the most vulnerable, agricultural education,
nutrition, agricultural research, natural resource management, improvements to
land tenure, and rural infrastructure;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H29C18959358A4A5CB96D86FCD3EA4851"><enum>(6)</enum><text>assist smallholder
farmers in obtaining the resources, services, tools, and information they need
including technology, financial services, seed varieties, fertilizer, risk
management, post-harvest storage systems, water, soil conservation methods,
ecologically appropriate nutrient, soil, water, seed and pest management,
weather forecasting and projections in ways that assure gender equitable
access;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H8FC28AAC67C84EBE80A53F86C4A19165"><enum>(7)</enum><text>prioritize
research efforts that respond to the needs and priorities of smallholder
farmers, including farmer-driven research, recognize that research must include
both international and localized agricultural research and extension programs,
and strive to build the educational capacity of smallholder farmers;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HE6856AAED27E4F429253227D155E3F6A"><enum>(8)</enum><text>incorporate
research efforts to better understand causes of gender inequity in agriculture,
and expand research in best practices in achieving nutrition outcomes through
agriculture, social protection, women’s empowerment and other sector programs;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HAEDA5DBD63264CD9AA12323CDBE50032"><enum>(9)</enum><text>build the
resilience of smallholder farmers through agricultural extension services,
village-level farmer groups, risk assessment and management tools, such as
micro-insurance, and dissemination of research to farmers, increase ability of
smallholder farmers to access inputs, technology, and information, to connect
with markets, to engage in local and national planning, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation regarding food and nutrition and related issues, to
undertake new or diversified production while maintaining stable food supply,
to be resilient in the face of shocks and stresses, and to respond to projected
changes in weather patterns;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H826734DDAF52418EB1A1B5699FBAEB9C"><enum>(10)</enum><text>target
investments in appropriate technologies and approaches to increase sustainable
agricultural production, improve post-harvest storage, enhance family
livelihood and nutrition, stimulate broad-based economic growth, and improve
access to local, regional, and international markets;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H62065A1EA353456C9DE2EF45A9A63737"><enum>(11)</enum><text>target research,
development of new technologies, extension agents, and funding towards the goal
of reducing post-harvest losses by 50 percent or more;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H72324F8781E146E9996178321D3AC5BF"><enum>(12)</enum><text>incorporate
approaches directed at reducing hunger and malnutrition for people living in
extreme poverty and those most vulnerable to malnutrition, especially pregnant
and lactating women, children in their first 1,000 days, and children under age
5, adolescent girls, communities in hard to reach areas, and marginalized
populations, including availability, access, nutritional education, consumption
and utilization of food, and delivery platforms such as community health
workers;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H148DB9C8541A4DAEBAEAB3FBE90E3041"><enum>(13)</enum><text>recognize
international food assistance programs as important to improving maternal and
child health through improved nutrition among the poorest and most vulnerable
populations, and focus on increasing their flexibility to increase program
efficiency, impact, and the number of people reached;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H8FF78F8BA51547118E2CA0695F5CBD3A"><enum>(14)</enum><text>address the
nutritional needs of pregnant and lactating mothers, children in their first
1,000 days, children who have not attained the age of 5, and adolescent girls,
and recognize the importance of prioritizing interventions, such as exclusive
breast-feeding, complementary feeding practices, iron folate supplements,
Vitamin A and zinc supplements, good hygiene and other evidence-based
interventions;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HE607B0FE63134AB5BEF4D9F73BC2A288"><enum>(15)</enum><text>prioritize,
support, and promote the central role of women in agricultural production and
related activities, including in household, local, and national decision-making
processes, in the countries of operation; ensure programs and approaches
address the special needs of women farmers, women living in poverty, and the
needs of all people who are agriculturalists, pastoralists, or otherwise
engaged in agriculture-related enterprises; ensure use of gender analysis to
enable identification of barriers and relevant interventions to address gender
inequality;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H64B318A90ACB49E88BCCE32D5BA71575"><enum>(16)</enum><text>uphold and
promote the principle of free, prior, and informed consent in relation to land
access and use rights; monitor and document the trend of large scale land
acquisitions and lease agreements in developing countries; promote global
standards of transparency for large international land deals;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H98344EED09A742F7AFE50988F6FC5B08"><enum>(17)</enum><text>expand and
prioritize United States assistance programs that strengthen land management in
developing countries and actively support efforts to develop guidelines and
support applications of land governance tools;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HED5E0979DABE4BC8B5E99D819ED1CFD7"><enum>(18)</enum><text>include and
provide appropriate linkages with existing United States international water,
energy, forest, weather and biodiversity programs; include assessment and
monitoring of the effects of global changing weather patterns; prioritize the
enhancement of natural resources and ecosystem resilience and the reduction of
negative environmental impacts from agricultural activities through sustainable
natural resource management practices including building local capacity and
transferring skills and knowledge;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HD1A2C4C2937D4E7C8D27543C8455B8FC"><enum>(19)</enum><text>ensure inclusion
and consideration of assessments and projections of the impacts of changing
weather patterns on program priorities, objectives and beneficiaries; promote
inclusion of local knowledge and perceptions of local conditions; prioritize
the enhancement of human capacity to respond to increasing extreme weather
events and current and projected changes in weather patterns;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HA9DBF1EE7D5744E3AD4772C38AC5047D"><enum>(20)</enum><text>prioritize the
enhancement of natural resources and ecosystem goods and services and the
reduction of negative environmental impacts from agricultural activities
through sustainable natural resource management practices including building
local capacity and transferring skills and knowledge;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H2C1AABA3691C45B39D0CF0DB4FA12178"><enum>(21)</enum><text>support capacity
building of national governments to administer safety net and social protection
programs that connect, integrate and expand existing programs to meet food and
nutrition security objectives and target the chronically hungry and
poor;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HE6DFA3CEBC3A4B0784A2AE23413FC26B"><enum>(22)</enum><text>support national
governments’ efforts to strengthen the quality, ambition, and coverage of
national nutrition plans, through community health workers and other
approaches;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H8CADD5065EC24A6EB0192235C151D631"><enum>(23)</enum><text>include specific,
measurable metrics, goals, benchmarks, time frames, and a plan of action to
achieve the objectives described in section 101;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H0AD44DEC650A4FD9BD4998CE1E33BAA5"><enum>(24)</enum><text>with respect to
such metrics shall include annual evaluation of improved nutritional status of
women and children, prevalence of stunted children, prevalence of wasted
children, prevalence of underweight women, prevalence of anemia among women and
children, sustainable agricultural sector growth, changes in agricultural
sector GDP, changes in rural income levels, changes in per capita expenditures
in rural households, knowledge of smallholder farmers regarding effective
farming practices, increased empowerment of women smallholder farmers, and
numbers of beneficiaries reached;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H23FE9F05256E4C54AE3A91AE32E76EF3"><enum>(25)</enum><text>provide for
annual monitoring and evaluations of programs that shall include gender
analysis and gender disaggregated data and address progress toward improvements
in emergency assistance, access to food, availability of food, nutritional
value of food, utilization of food, agricultural development, agricultural
education, and capacity to manage risk among food insecure populations;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HF9702BFEA056479F974D323B8CAFBE55"><enum>(26)</enum><text>include
aggregated reporting of indicators such as increases in income, poverty
reduction, agricultural productivity and child stunting in order to clearly
show the total impact of the United States investment in changing lives;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HDE8387CD1D7D4296B026C49D91FBE9FC"><enum>(27)</enum><text>include
community-level capacity building, agricultural extension services,
enhancements to agricultural infrastructure and productivity; increased access
to financial services and markets, research and technology, credit and markets,
availability and functioning of local institutions serving rural communities’
needs, such as farmer-owned cooperatives, safety net programs, job creation,
household incomes, research and technology, global health and the
environment;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HA50CDEF69FDF4648AAF6A2AB4E4CEEA2"><enum>(28)</enum><text>utilize the
expertise of private voluntary organizations and cooperatives, international
organizations, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, and
local administrators to improve the sustainability and productivity of
agriculture, increase access to markets, enhance infrastructure, promote
economic opportunity, address food and nutrition security and agricultural
development needs at the household and community level, and protect the natural
resource base on which rural, agricultural communities depend;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H1FEDE234136F4F0AA4BFD3D99FC37BCC"><enum>(29)</enum><text>ensure United
States investments in promoting food and nutrition security address key
determinants of food insecurity, particularly—</text>
<subparagraph id="HF1B8881A99CF4C808BD4AE7C93074BA4"><enum>(A)</enum><text>availability and
access, through investments in agricultural productivity, value chains and
market development, and equitable distribution of and control over productive
resources;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H7D096E76E020426C8754F7A0AE9870A4"><enum>(B)</enum><text>utilization of
food, through a multifaceted approach to nutrition; and</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H5E12068D5F9742A281A2B90336B6B2B7"><enum>(C)</enum><text>stability, through
ensuring that effective mechanisms are in place to address chronic and cyclical
food insecurity; and</text>
</subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="H0D54E4EE0AD047BB9D4AAFFFD1EB5EF1"><enum>(30)</enum><text>ensure and
promote—</text>
<subparagraph id="H034272D7462340A7883394F08F97C59D"><enum>(A)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">alignment with and support of the
Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program and other recipient
country and regional strategies for addressing sustainable agricultural
development;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H1208407E5D48411E849ACF26938090FC"><enum>(B)</enum><text>coordination and
integration of food and nutrition security programs between departments and
agencies described in paragraph (2) and between relevant bureaus within the
United States Agency for International Development, including the Bureau of
Food Security, the Bureau of Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Affairs, the
Bureau of Economic Growth, Education and the Environment, and the Bureau for
Global Health;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H18AFC7255A0143188C4BD727A842EBF7"><enum>(C)</enum><text>inclusion of the
resources of both public, private sector, and local private sector providers of
appropriate agriculture inputs, processors, and marketers, including through
the Global Development Alliances of the United States Agency for International
Development and other measures;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H76476542C1444393BD19C445F2F21077"><enum>(D)</enum><text>ensuring that
private sector investments comply with the Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible
Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests in the Context of National
Food Security regarding large-scale transactions;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H97F36C38A8F741D89E74EDC8E25B5EA1"><enum>(E)</enum><text>consultation and
coordination at national and local levels with local and international academic
and research communities, civil society, representatives of small-scale food
providers, United States and international nongovernmental organizations,
cooperatives, international organizations, international financial
institutions, the governments of developing and developed countries, and other
program implementers;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H3D238854ACA847A686EA7E18A44E3939"><enum>(F)</enum><text>consultation with
and engagement of local civil society, local communities, farmer groups and
cooperatives, and women’s groups in inclusive planning processes as well as the
implementation and monitoring and evaluation of programs; and</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="HC53E9EBC24BE48D585D6E7FC67F91C67"><enum>(G)</enum><text>national
government capacity to coordinate food and nutrition security planning and
programs across all relevant ministries and levels of government, including the
ability to implement comprehensive plans and programs to scale up nutrition
intervention and through linkages with complementary health, water and
sanitation systems.</text>
</subparagraph></paragraph></subsection></section><section id="HD9358F2E010A4F09B681934595B9230D"><enum>103.</enum><header>Reports</header>
<subsection id="H72820B0E98D74977BAF310A76E549ABE"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Annual
reports</header>
<paragraph id="HED94D256225340FB82F9E09A42034657"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In
general</header><text>Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of
this Act, and not later than December 31 of each year thereafter through 2019,
the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
on the implementation of the strategy described in section 102(c) and how it
fulfills the policy objectives described in section 101.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H1522AE3DE44E4B848B23C451B8EA03B7"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Content</header><text>The
report required under paragraph (1) shall include—</text>
<subparagraph id="H74926251615242008B1BCC928B145C7D"><enum>(A)</enum><text>a copy of the
strategy and an indication of any changes made in the strategy during the
preceding calendar year;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H100424877B004071949A71C3E5AF38E1"><enum>(B)</enum><text>an assessment of
progress made during the preceding calendar year toward meeting the objectives
described in section 101 and the specific goals, benchmarks, and time frames
specified in the strategy described in section 102(c);</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H724FD448F32543C2A0A969130700208D"><enum>(C)</enum><text>a description of
United States Government bilateral programs, and investments in multilateral
institutions, contributing to the achievement of the objectives described in
section 101, including the amounts expended on such programs during the
preceding fiscal year;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="HBA7AAD2093944088A1FCA52492C57FBC"><enum>(D)</enum><text>an assessment of
United States efforts to encourage business and philanthropic participation in
United States food and nutrition security and agricultural development
programs, and to coordinate, harmonize, and align such programs with similar
efforts of international organizations, international financial institutions,
the governments of developing and developed countries, and United States and
international nongovernmental organizations;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H71BCCE709D064D25AC0BD2537A7EE43C"><enum>(E)</enum><text>an assessment of
progress made and capacity gaps in implementing and institutionalizing a
comprehensive approach to food and nutrition security, including integration of
cross-cutting issues such as gender, environment, and nutrition, through
coordinating and integrating global food and nutrition security and
agricultural development research activities with other United States bilateral
and multilateral development efforts in the areas of operation;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="HC0CA8FBA82DD4E68ABFDC35AFD82CDA1"><enum>(F)</enum><text>an assessment of
land tenure rights and land purchases within each country and their consistency
with the Voluntary Guidelines on Land Tenure;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H5BAC2E6BD3F1498B8729D4FBF1B33ABD"><enum>(G)</enum><text>a description of
those countries with the greatest level of food insecurity, stunting, and
malnutrition for the primary goal of increasing food and nutrition security;
and</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="HCDF9DBEAF00847B5885B339A26B982BF"><enum>(H)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">a transparent, open, and detailed budget of
agriculture and food security spending and progress pertaining to the strategy
described in section 102(c).</text>
</subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="HC063589BFBC5466588ABF7CCC2C32BE8"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Government
accountability office report</header><text>Not later than 270 days after the
submission of each report under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
that contains—</text>
<subparagraph id="H2B8B0202622F4DC399CD5603129B60A9"><enum>(A)</enum><text>a review of, and
comments addressing, the report submitted under paragraph (1); and</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="HB7A7F2177113469DB7E25B49753BA48B"><enum>(B)</enum><text>recommendations
relating to any additional actions the Comptroller General believes are
important to improve a global food security, nutrition security, and
agricultural development strategy and its implementation.</text>
</subparagraph></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="H9EFE855FD1EF4EF88C5188A0730CE519"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Five-Year
program review</header>
<paragraph id="HBF695085CAAF4090AC555E978EC97A8D"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In
general</header><text>Not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report containing—</text>
<subparagraph id="H89C207BAE0F34D92A3C0EB9D9F6C3820"><enum>(A)</enum><text>an assessment of
progress made during the preceding 4 years toward meeting the objectives
described in section 101 and the specific goals, benchmarks, and time frames
specified in the strategy described in section 102(c); and</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H2D2E4C6AF3574C6E8A64F499028E5B5E"><enum>(B)</enum><text>an evaluation of
the impact during the preceding 5 years of United States food and nutrition
security programs on food security, agricultural development, nutrition,
health, stunting, water and soil health, biodiversity, and economic growth in
countries suffering from chronic food insecurity.</text>
</subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="HE7B8EC79E21948A5965D7E2184F90D28"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Basis for
report</header><text>The report required under paragraph (1) shall be based on
assessments and impact evaluations utilizing sound quantitative and qualitative
methodologies and techniques used in the behavioral and social sciences, and
shall incorporate the views of smallholder farmers in the recipient
countries.</text>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="H8E42EC53EBA24A9BA3A647E8CE693A7A"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Availability to
public</header><text>Each report required under this section shall also be made
available to the public.</text>
</subsection></section><enum>II</enum><header>Bilateral
programs</header>
<section id="H196C10150A414A6D80F1B380F54875E1"><enum>201.</enum><header>Agriculture,
rural development, and nutrition</header>
<subsection id="H0F105185CE254A5597B60295C22B1434"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Authority</header><text>Section
103(a)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/22/2151a">22 U.S.C. 2151a(a)(1)</external-xref>) is
amended—</text>
<paragraph id="H6781C5FF03484CCA9AFE095BCB6AB14D"><enum>(1)</enum><text>in subparagraph
(A), by striking <quote>and malnutrition</quote> and inserting <quote>stunting,
and malnutrition</quote>;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H7902F8FA73C64225BDD295091AD1132E"><enum>(2)</enum><text>in subparagraph
(B), by striking <quote>; and</quote> and inserting a semicolon;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H7A8D4EB9B945415BA43E4EF7DD55A0BF"><enum>(3)</enum><text>in subparagraph
(C), by striking the period at the end and inserting <quote>; and</quote>;
and</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H75D82A0E5E864B47B40F1B119C914577"><enum>(4)</enum><text>by adding at the
end the following new subparagraphs:</text>
<quoted-block display-inline="no-display-inline" id="H9FCF375004A34A9FB0772B3CFE6C5D79" style="OLC">
<subparagraph id="HBBBD56E7DD604E03BBB543D75DF95300"><enum>(D)</enum><text>to improve
nutrition of vulnerable populations, such as children under the age of 5, women
of reproductive age, pregnant or lactating women, including through programs of
nutrition and health improvement for mothers and children, including but not
limited to breastfeeding and all other optimal infant and young child feeding,
as well as food-based approaches such as diet diversification, home gardening
and nutritional education linked to agricultural extension;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="HC1A7D6E04E534861853354E924511C3B"><enum>(E)</enum><text>to expand the
economic participation of women, people living in extreme poverty and those who
lack access to agriculturally productive land, including but not limited to
through development of rural infrastructure, disaster risk reduction, health
and nutrition programs, access to local and international markets, and by
integration of those living in extreme poverty into the economy;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H057763E7CC3A4C9089EF0399D104EC64"><enum>(F)</enum><text>to improve
smallholder farmers’ agricultural productivity, income, education, capacity,
and ability to manage risk including but not limited to through the expansion
and improvement of agricultural and food enterprises, access to seed,
fertilizer, and extension agents, farmer to farmer exchanges, cooperatives and
associations focused on increasing the productivity and incomes of these
farmers through the transfer of skills and knowledge; and through the
enhancement of access to information, resources, tools, equipment, seeds,
technology, and planning and decisionmaking processes;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="HBB9E54F8C86C4594A035784A955E534C"><enum>(G)</enum><text>to support natural
resource management, conservation management, sustainable water management and
other sustainable agricultural techniques to build resilience to shocks and
stresses, adapt to changes in weather patterns, and respond to projected
changes in water shortages while protecting natural resources;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H59A095649531419C8AF798818303531C"><enum>(H)</enum><text>to promote global
standards of transparency for international land deals, strengthen programs to
provide land tenure to international smallholder farmers, and actively support
the principle of free, prior and informed consent in relation to land rights
and access; and</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H496EB5E964D549058D91C18A938D912A"><enum>(I)</enum><text>to use the best
available metrics, measurements, and data analysis tools to monitor, measure
and evaluate effectiveness of such aid, with reduction in stunting, decrease in
poverty, and increase in smallholder farmers’ agricultural production being key
components of evaluating
effectiveness.</text>
</subparagraph><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="H009D0047D0484CBA9115E6E6515B2F5D"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Priority and
other requirements</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Section
103 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/22/2151a">22 U.S.C. 2151a</external-xref>) is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:</text>
<quoted-block display-inline="no-display-inline" id="H7F4707F0300F4D4A96F08192B54D4B04" style="OLC">
<subsection id="HB4908EAA30FC49F69F3A972A00D9BA55"><enum>(h)</enum><header>Priority and
other requirements</header><text>In providing assistance under this section,
the President shall meet the following priority and other requirements:</text>
<paragraph id="HC2EC988BD3DC47FF8AE94CF27249E0D2"><enum>(1)</enum><text>Assistance under
this section shall be used primarily for activities that are specifically
designed to meet the purposes described in subsection (a)(1), including such
activities as—</text>
<subparagraph id="HCBE290FE5DC349098BCFE48CC750EFCA"><enum>(A)</enum><text>expansion and
improvement of agricultural and food enterprises, cooperatives and associations
that can increase the productivity and incomes of the poor in part through the
transfer of skills and knowledge;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H7C6D893E25CB4D24BFC9671469651C71"><enum>(B)</enum><text>linking farmers,
entrepreneurs, enterprises and institutions in poor areas with regional and
national businesses, institutions and systems;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="HEB60CF0DA486494D96D09C6FF1275537"><enum>(C)</enum><text>providing access
to markets, inputs, financing, extension services, and appropriate technologies
for the rural poor;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H69207F233F954338A45633C4FD1B02B0"><enum>(D)</enum><text>expansion of rural
infrastructure and utilities such as farm-to-market roads, water management
systems, land improvement, storage facilities, and energy, specifically
renewable energy whenever practicable;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H833BB0A099BE4915A6A927F004CEFEE2"><enum>(E)</enum><text>establishment of
more equitable and more secure land tenure and resource rights arrangements;
and</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H8130A19E1A4E417EA37F468C6C1444FD"><enum>(F)</enum><text>creation and
strengthening of systems to provide other services and supplies needed by
farmers, such as extension, research, training, financing, fertilizer, water,
forestry, soil conservation, and improved seed, in ways which assure gender
equitable access to such services and supplies by small farmers.</text>
</subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="HFEE5D4C757CB4BAC97457C345E170BA7"><enum>(2)</enum><text>In circumstances
in which development of major infrastructure is necessary to achieve the
purposes of subsection (a), assistance for those purposes may only be provided
under this section in association with significant contributions from other
countries working together in a multilateral framework. Infrastructure projects
so assisted should be environmentally sensitive and complemented by other
measures to ensure that the benefits of the infrastructure projects reach the
poor.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HCA23D21232BD492085BCF0DCBB2FCE77"><enum>(3)</enum><text>Where appropriate
to meet the purposes of subsection (a), assistance shall be provided under this
section to maintain, enhance and value ecosystem goods and services in
developing countries. Such assistance shall include the protection of
watersheds and soil, sustainable agricultural, forest, fisheries, and
agro-forest management, and the provision of alternative household fuels that
reduce demand for and emissions from the combustion of local forest
resources.</text>
</paragraph></subsection><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block>
</subsection><subsection id="H22F455BDB1914189875B8E24B7CCDEB2"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Private
voluntary organizations and cooperatives</header><text>In providing assistance
under section 103 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/22/2151a">22 U.S.C. 2151a</external-xref>) for
purposes described in subparagraphs (D) through (I) of section 103(a)(1) of
such Act, as added by subsection (a) of this section, the President shall enter
into partnerships with and provide grants, cooperative agreements, and other
assistance to private voluntary organizations and cooperatives to mobilize and
assist low-income populations.</text>
</subsection></section><section commented="no" id="H0FC1D6D8E4F641298A57B56CB925F4A0"><enum>202.</enum><header>Agricultural
and nutrition research</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">Section
103A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/22/2151a-1">22 U.S.C. 2151a–1</external-xref>) is amended in
the first sentence—</text>
<paragraph commented="no" id="HC53464F4CAE546748B3CF9561B523602"><enum>(1)</enum><text>by striking
<quote>, and (3) make</quote> and inserting <quote>, (3) make</quote>;
and</text>
</paragraph><paragraph commented="no" id="H632D8D3D8EA34113B6729D8DE9964FA7"><enum>(2)</enum><text>by striking the
period at the end and inserting <quote>, (4) include research, including
farmer-driven research, on technological advances appropriate to local
ecological condition, culture, and the desires, needs, and priorities of the
local communities, and (5) include research on the effects and ways to address
the effects of changing weather patterns on agriculture and nutrition and the
measures or techniques necessary to enhance the capacity of local communities
to adapt to observed or anticipated effects through conservation management and
other techniques.</quote>.</text>
</paragraph></section>