DRD’s Portfolio and Sustainable Development Initiatives
Currently, DRD's international development portfolio tends to emphasize:
- Sustainable agricultural
production and trade capacity building,
- Natural resources management and conservation of soils, water, and forests,
- Agricultural statistics, economics, and policy analysis,
- Plant and animal health,
protection. and quarantine,
- Agribusiness and market
systems development, such as market news and information, market grades and
standards, food safety and marketing regulations, and
- Technology development and
transfer through agricultural research and extension.
Its major partners at USDA implementing the portfolio are the following USDA
agencies:
Projects in the portfolio support DRD’s five initiatives for advancing food
security and building the key institutions, capabilities, and technical skills
that lead to sustainable development. The initiatives and USDA’s contributions
for advancing each initiative are:
Initiative 1,
Food Security and Trade Capacity Building
aims to strengthen the capacity of cooperating countries to research, analyze
and monitor food security issues; improve regional and national
information and data systems relevant to food insecurity and its causes; and
enhance institutional capacities for policymakers to use and analyze data
effectively. Also emphasized are policies that achieve economic growth
and address trade reform, market performance, and agricultural sustainability;
improved access to technical and market information; dissemination of relevant
research results; and extension systems in close collaboration with farmers
and the marketplace.
Contribution to Sustainable Development:
This initiative promotes
economic and food security through institutional, financial and regulatory
reforms for competitive markets, privatization, and an enhanced business
environment for trade and investment. It also advocates national policies and
actions to promote and support sustainable food and aquaculture systems, with
particular attention to the role of women in natural resources management and
all aspects of the food system. Emphasis is also placed on broadening
dissemination of sustainable agriculture techniques and improving extension
and linkages that help adapt new technologies to local conditions, while
meeting the needs of producers.
This initiative also helps to improve regional and national information
systems relevant to food security. Here, DRD is providing project management
and program support services for USAID's Famine Early Warning Systems Network,
that is implementing sustainable, African-led food security and
response-planning networks to reduce the vulnerability of at-risk groups in
drought-prone countries of Southern Africa. Further, in Ethiopia, Ecuador and
Ukraine, USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service is furnishing
technical assistance and training in all aspects of statistical surveys,
censuses and data systems to improve agricultural statistics programs there.
The goal is to provide better information to address shortfalls in regional
food production, hunger, and lack of reliable information on the agricultural
sector.
Projects supporting this initiative include:
- Africa
Emergency Locust and Grasshopper Assistance III
- Agricultural
Support to USAID’s Regional Economic Development Services Office for
Eastern and Southern Africa
- Assistance
to Rural Businesses and Cooperatives in Ghana and Senegal
- Conflict Management and Mitigation
- Democracy
and Governance
- EAGER/Greater
Horn of Africa Initiative
- Eritrea
Small Dams
- Global
Agricultural Technology Support
- Lac
Tech II / HFTE
- Market
Access/Sub Saharan Africa
- Mitigation
and Planning Support
- Nicaragua
Agricultural Production, Trade Development, and Natural Resources Management
- Policy
Analysis, Research, and Technical Support for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Senegal
Microenterprise Development
- West
Africa Regional Program Support
- Yugoslavia
Agricultural Extension
- Caucasus Agricultural Development
Initiative
Initiative 2, Conservation of Natural Resources and Protection of the
Environment
seeks to promote policies,
incentives, know-how and appropriate technologies for sustainable natural
resources management at the national and local levels.
Contribution to Sustainable Development:
This initiative integrates
environmental concerns into food security efforts to assure sound natural
resources management and agricultural sustainability. It also promotes an
environmentally sound approach to sustainable development, including
environmental policy reform in developing countries. Further emphasized are
(1) improved agricultural and agro-forestry production practices to sequester
carbon in biomass and soils; and (2) efforts to prevent the loss of endangered
species and biological diversity, protect fisheries and agro-biodiversity, and
mitigate land degradation and desertification. Recognition of the essential
role of forests in maintaining productive agricultural systems is promoted, as
well as sustainable forest management for the full range of socio-economic and
environmental benefits.
Projects supporting this initiative include:
- Central
Africa Regional Program for the Environment
- Global
Education and Environment
- Global
Environment and Natural Resources Management
- Haiti
Environment and Agricultural Technical Support
- Honduras
Forestry Development Programs
- Nicaragua
Natural Resources Management
- Nicaragua
Agricultural Production, Trade Development, and Natural Resources
Management
- Panama
Natural Resources Advisor
- Policy
Analysis, Research, and Technical Support for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Regional
Environmental Advisor at USAID’s Regional Mission in Central America
- Russia
Environment Program
- U.S.-Asia
Environmental Partnership
Initiative 3, Mitigation of Climate Change and Environmentally
Sustainable Energy Production and Use
aims to develop and implement
efforts to combat the threat of climate change in cooperation with developing
nations and to strengthen national capacities to produce and use renewable,
clean, and efficient energy resources.
Contribution to Sustainable Development:
DRD is assisting USAID in
implementing its Climate Change Initiative, as well as its sustainable
forestry programs. These are expanding efforts to help developing countries
reduce net greenhouse gas emissions and vulnerability to threats posed by
climate change impacts and to increase participation in the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change. In sustainable energy, efforts are
aimed at advancing energy conservation and efficiency, using alternative
energy sources, halting deforestation and stimulating reforestation, promoting
sound natural resource management, and understanding the relationship between
policy and sustainable use of natural resources and the development of new
technology.
Projects supporting this initiative include:
- Sustainable
Energy and Mitigation of Climate Change
- Energy
Market Reform in Europe and Eurasia
Initiative 4, Monitoring and Evaluation for USDA’s Global Food for
Education Initiative (GFEI) is
strengthening school feeding and pre-school projects in developing countries.
Contribution to Sustainable Development:
Under GFEI, USDA donates U.S. agricultural commodities to support 49
separate school feeding programs in 38 countries. At the request of FAS Export
Credits, DRD is monitoring and evaluating 26 Private Voluntary Organizations
and one country government project in 20 countries. The recipients of school
feeding grants were selected using a set of criteria that included need,
contribution of resources by the host government, technical feasibility, and a
commitment to the Dakar Forum's Education for All goals. Additionally each
program was examined to insure that the donations would have a benign effect
on local markets and would not disrupt commercial sales opportunities. School
feeding programs help assure that children attend and remain in school and
have the potential to improve childhood development and achievement, thereby
contributing to more self-reliant, productive societies.
