Hillary outlines administration's plan to fight world hunger

Hillary presented the plan in a guest editorial at the Huffington Post.  About 17% of the world's population, roughly one billion people, suffers from hunger every day.  Fifty years ago, about one-third of the world's people were hungry. 

In one sense, we have made great progress in halving the hunger rate.  In another sense, because of the increase in the world's population, the sheer number of the hungry is about the same as it was then. 

It is one thing to unveil a plan, and quite another to do those things which can put the plan into place.  One commenter notes that Monsanto, for example, sells seeds that are not re-plantable.  Every year, farmers have to buy seed.  Oil companies and mining companies are forcing indigenous farmers off their farms.  Water for irrigation will be in increasingly short supply.  Alas, there are many problems.  One hopes the administration will stick to these priorities:

Seven point plan on the flip.

 

1. We will seek to increase agricultural productivity, by expanding access to quality seeds, fertilizers, irrigation tools, and the credit to purchase them and training to use them.

2. We will work to stimulate the private sector, by improving the storage and processing of food and improving roads and transportation so small farmers can sell the fruits of their labor at local markets.

3. We are committed to maintaining natural resources, so the land can be farmed well into the future. That includes helping developing communities adapt to climate change, which has had a major effect on the world's farms.

4. We will expand knowledge and training by supporting R&D and cultivating the next generation of plant scientists.

5. We will seek to increase trade so small-scale farmers can sell their crops far and wide.

6. We will support policy reform and good governance, because sustainable agriculture flourishes in a clear and predictable policy and regulatory environment.

7. We will support women and families. 70% of the world's farmers are women, but most programs that offer farmers credit and training target men. This is unfair and impractical. An effective agricultural system must have incentives for those who do the work. And it must take into account the particular needs of those whose futures will shape our world: our children.