The United States has committed $80 million to support farmers in Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia — an investment that aims to spare half a million people in the region from chronic hunger.
The commitment is at the heart of a new “accelerator” program, one that will operate through the U.S. government’s flagship hunger initiative, Feed the Future. Through targeted commitments in the three countries, U.S. officials said the accelerator will bring new seed varieties, fertilizer approaches, and market access to farmers, while also strengthening the infrastructure around each country’s food system — from roads to irrigation to grain storage.
“We have run the numbers, and we are placing bets on three countries that have both high need and extraordinary potential to increase agricultural productivity,” said USAID Administrator Samantha Power at a launch event for the accelerator on Thursday which was hosted by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition in Washington, D.C.
About the author
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene reports on USAID and the U.S. government at Devex. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian magazine, among others. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for humanitarian agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
