The Trump administration’s cuts to foreign aid could have devastating implications for U.S. farmers who supply commodities for various aid programs and weaken systems that predict and prevent pests and diseases that know no borders, according to U.S. senators and agricultural experts.
American farmers supply roughly 40% of international food assistance — including nearly $2 billion annually in commodities and also benefit from aid-funded research led by U.S. universities on disease prevention and climate-resilient agriculture. But recent months have seen grants canceled, programs frozen, and massive staff cuts at the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, leaving both global partners and U.S. food producers on uncertain ground.
“USAID procured nearly $2 billion from American producers and shippers,” representing a significant, stable market for U.S. agricultural goods, said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota. She, alongside Sen. Jeanne Shaheen — a Democrat from New Hampshire — convened the forum of agriculture and aid experts on Capitol Hill on Thursday to spotlight how the elimination of key food and agriculture aid programs is already affecting both the United States and its global partners.
About the author
Ayenat Mersie
Ayenat Mersie is a Global Development Reporter for Devex. Previously, she worked as a freelance journalist for publications such as National Geographic and Foreign Policy and as an East Africa correspondent for Reuters.
