Executives say government needs online clearinghouse for food program

The federal government must better organize its online presence to encourage collaboration with the private sector on an initiative aimed at improving the success of agricultural investments in developing countries, business executives said on Monday.

The United States should host a Web-based clearinghouse that provides timely information to companies interested in helping nonprofit organizations that work with these countries, said J.B. Cordaro, global business adviser for the chocolate company Mars. He participated in a discussion on business solutions to nutrition problems hosted by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on Monday.

Nutrition is a cornerstone of the new U.S. Feed the Future program, a federal initiative that works to end hunger and promote economic growth in impoverished communities overseas. Investments focus on agricultural productivity, nutrition and market development. President Obama has committed spending at least $3.5 billion for agricultural development and access to food over three years.

"Too often our investments have resulted in a collection of projects that fail to transform a value chain and leave a lasting, market-oriented agricultural system," said Rajiv Shah, administrator at USAID when he announced Feed the Future on May 20. "So we will do things differently. First, we're getting feedback from the private sector on our investments, and aligning investments in grain storage, market information systems and feeder roads with private sector priorities."

A key goal of the initiative is building flexible partnerships with a range of partners, including the private sector. But that is easier said than done, a federal official noted during the talk. "We hear and we throw out the word 'sustainability' a lot. We hear things about tying in the private sector a lot," said Ron Croushorn, a director at the Agriculture Department's Foreign Agricultural Service. "Those are very easy phrases to throw out. But making them operational is something that, as a donor, I see as a challenge."

In addition to organizing an online stockroom of resources, Cordaro also recommended the administration relax acquisition rules to attract more corporations to participate. "The U.S. government contract and grant procedures need to be more agile and flexible," he said.

"We're not looking for a grant of dollars from the U.S. government [for ourselves]," Cordaro said. "I'd like to see the government a little bit more creative in being able to move a lot faster . . . if it's understood that the monies would go to nonprofits and other entities that don't have a profit in mind."

The U.S. government is concentrating its investments in areas that show potential for developing sustainable agriculture, including Africa (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia), Asia (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal and Tajikistan), and Latin America (Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua).

"The key for us is to be brought in early," added Kate Houston, director of federal government relations at food producer Cargill, who served as USDA deputy under secretary for food, nutrition and consumer services until January 2009. "As those countries are developing their plans, the private sector should be at the table . . . in reviewing those plans."