Global Food for Thought

Commentary - From Dairy Farm to the Global Table

2013-05-22T07:50:24-05:00

By Mr. Tom Gallagher, CEO, Dairy Management Inc.

I was fortunate to be in attendance as the Chicago Council on Global Affairs released their new report, “Advancing Global Food Security: The Power of Science, Trade, and Business” at the 2013 Global Food Security Symposium. It makes sense to look to these three pillars, since they are what helped drive American agricultural production throughout the 20^th Century. Today, farmers achieve an output 250 percent greater than what they did from the same inputs in 1930. And as we’ve gotten more efficient on the farm, fewer Americans have stayed there – today, farmers constitute just two percent of the population, down from 22 percent eighty years ago.

But we need to look to those two percent as we attempt to solve a challenge as hard and as complex as any in modern history. It’s well known that we’ll need to increase global food production by 60 percent over the next 40 years. That would be a daunting task if it was simply taking a satisfactory food system and scaling it upwards, but it’s so much more than that.

Our current global food system leaves 870 million hungry. Two billion are undernourished. A system with results like that is one that needs to be changed dramatically. But that change can only be implemented responsibly; while our population is growing, our resources – land, water, air – are not.

Against this backdrop, it would be easy to become discouraged. These are complex systems with nearly limitless variables – climate, price, weather events, international trade, foreign policy and more. All the while the clock is ticking. Yet I take confidence in the dairy farmers I’m fortunate to work with every day. For centuries, they’ve held the roles of veterinarian, economist, entrepreneur, meteorologist, agronomist and, most importantly, parent. Few professions are more prepared to help us navigate a world where concerns of climate and economics meet ones of public health and food access. We’ll need on-farm as well as in-store adaptations and innovations to ensure the world of our children – and our children’s children – is one that gives the global population access to sufficient, safe, affordable and nutritious food.

But these dairy farmers have done it before. They’ve sought out and implemented the production efficiencies that sustain American resources – an example we’ll need to replicate globally. Over a 63-year span (1944-2007), the dairy industry reduced its carbon footprint by 63 percent, all while quadrupling the annual milk yield. Indeed, the more productive on-farm practices become, the lower the carbon footprint that results. This is why it takes five cows in Mexico to match the output of one California cow. That number becomes even higher in other countries. In the U.S., we’ve reached the point where a growing number of farms are converting their waste to energy through anaerobic digesters, powering the farm and surrounding homes – a true closed food system.

That’s not to say that the model that’s emerged in North America is replicable or even desirable elsewhere. Even domestically, sometimes the differences between a dairy farm in New York and one in Idaho are so vast that one could be left wondering if they are, in fact, in the same industry. But what we can count on across the board is milk’s role as a healthy and local source of nutrition and a driver of economic growth in the community it belongs to. As we look at emerging countries with growing middle classes that want their nutrition from dairy products, it’s important to think of it as economic potential to be unlocked rather than red tape to be avoided. I believe it falls to the American, Canadian and European dairy communities to assist their peers across the globe wherever possible.

So there are many things we can share with the world – new products that are nutrient-rich and shelf-stable, for instance – but maybe the most important of all is the knowledge our farmers have gained and implemented since the end of World War II as they adapted to meet the needs of a growing American population. That’s why when the Chicago Council honed in on the power of science, trade, and business to end hunger, I felt truly confident that those are the areas where American agriculture is best equipped to help solve this hardest – and most important – of challenges.

Live Blog - Calling On Congress, U.S. Government To Make Food Security A Higher Priority

2013-05-22T04:37:13-05:00

By Erin Stock, InterAction

Congress should commit the United States to a global food and nutrition security strategy, and the vice president should oversee it, a new report from The Chicago Council on Global Affairs recommends.

The U.S. should also increase resources for scientific collaboration and capacity building around these efforts, as well as push the international community to prioritize food security and nutrition in the post-2015 development agenda, the report’s authors said today at the Council’s annual symposium in Washington, D.C.

Overall, they are urging the U.S. government to make global food security a higher priority in its economic and foreign development policy.

“The government has to create a strategy that lasts beyond one administration,” said Catherine Bertini, a co-chair of the report, “Advancing Global Food Security: The Power of Science, Trade, and Business.”

Bertini, the former executive director of the United Nations World Food Program, pointed to initiatives such as PEPFAR that have outlasted presidential terms. She applauded what the Obama administration has done so far on hunger and poverty, but said policymakers should forge a strategy that will last beyond the current administration.

As the world’s leading agricultural power, the U.S. has the capacity to lead, and doing so helps create American jobs, expand trade and investment, grow markets and increase U.S. influence globally, the report says.

These efforts have the strong support of the United States public as well, said Dan Glickman, the report’s co-chair. He cited a 2012 survey by The Chicago Council indicating that 91 percent of Americans believe that fighting world hunger should be an important U.S. foreign policy goal.

“It is in our interest, our national interest, to provide leadership on these issues,” said Glickman, a former U.S. secretary of agriculture. “Food security is a national security issue.”

In addition to urging the United States to prioritize global food security, the report’s other three key recommendations are:

Forge a new science of agriculture based on “sustainable intensification,” the idea of increasing outputs (production, nutrition and incomes) using the same amount or less of land and water, while also adapting to climate change and minimizing environmental impacts
Reinvigorate trade as a food security and development tool
Make market access and partnership with business a pillar of food security policy

On agricultural research, Glickman said, federal spending has been largely stagnant for 30 years and even slipped in recent years when considering inflation. China, meanwhile, has since become the biggest funder of public agricultural research, Glickman said.

USAID Administrator Raj Shah, speaking after the recommendations were announced today, thanked the group for “helping to define a path forward for this administration and for future administrations.” He also urged the community to support Obama’s food aid reform proposal put forward to Congress in his fiscal year 2014 budget request.

“Now we need your voice to help update a five-decade old system that today will become irrelevant if we don’t’ modernize it,” he said.

Erin Stock is the online coordinator for InterAction. This blog is cross-posted on the InterAction's blog. Follow @globalagdev and #globalag on Twitter to join the conversation.

Live Blog - Chicago Council: Agriculture and Health Nexus Panel

2013-05-21T13:06:01-05:00

Danielle Nierenberg, co-founder, Food Tank

The Chicago Council Global Food Security Symposium continued with another panel discussion on “The Agriculture and Health Nexus,” moderated by Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian,

Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, the co-director of the Program in Cardiovascular Epidemiology and associate professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School; and associate professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. The participants included:

Dr. Howard-Yana Shapiro, chief agricultural officer, Mars, Inc.; senior fellow, plant sciences, University of California, Davis; distinguished fellow, World Agroforestry Centre

Dr. Subbanna Ayyappan, secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Government of India; director general, The Indian Council of Agricultural Research...

Hon. Prof. Ruth K. Oniang'o, founder and editor-in-chief, African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development; founder and CEO, Rural Outreach Africa

“How many enemies can I make on this answer?” Dr. Shapiro boldly called for large agribusinesses like Monsanto, Syngenta, and DuPont to make all their information public and readily available. Dr. Shapiro criticized these companies for not being entirely honest about their goals and motivations.

The open sourcing of agricultural and nutrition research by agribusinesses would be a “gift from industry and the private sector to the public,” says Dr. Shapiro. This would allow for greater innovation and research. Dr. Ayyappan also noted the need for an increase in sharing resources in agriculture.

Professor Oniang’o reflected on the shift back towards traditional eating practices in her native Kenya, and the rejection of the Western-style of diet. She said that many Kenyans attribute a rise in cancer due to these dietary changes. Dr. Ayyappan similarly noted the dramatic increase in diabetes in the Indian subcontinent, also associated with dietary changes.

Dr. Mozaffarian was critical of the focus on just increasing caloric production, and not the quality or production of the food. There is a risk of agricultural science disengaging from nutritional science. These two fields are interdependent, and a global view of health “from in utero to elderly” is needed.

This interdependence is also seen on a global scale. Professor Oniang’o noted that “Africa may look like the forgotten orphan child, but Africa will be feeding the rest of you.” Better coordination and clearer long-term goals are critical, argues Professor Oniang’o, in order to achieve measurable success in reducing hunger and malnutrition.

Food Tank will be live-blogging presentations from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' Global Food Security Symposium.

Live Blog - Chicago Council: A Discussion on “A New Science of Agriculture to Advance Global Food Security”

2013-05-21T13:02:45-05:00

Danielle Nierenberg, co-founder, Food Tank

The Chicago Council Global Food Security Symposium continues with a panel discussion entitled, “A New Science of Agriculture to Advance Global Food Security," chaired by Dr. Barbara Schaal, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

Dr. Schaal noted after the first round of questions that, when it comes to changing agriculture and the food system, “science alone is not sufficient.” The variety shown in the panel members made it clear that there is renewed focus across public, private, and international organizations towards ending global food insecurity.

Begemann emphasized that, across sectors and organizations, “we all need to work together.” Other speakers stressed that the complex challenge of hunger requires a unique collaboration between different sectors, experts, and communities.

Dr. Mauricio Antonio Lopes, president of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, discussed three needs in addressing food and agriculture: more strategic thinking, more foresight, and better strategies to deal with challenges and changes of the future. Dr. Rob Horsch, deputy director of research and development for The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, echoed this need for strategic thinking and foresight, arguing that we must “start with what farmers need.” By engaging with the communities that the international community seeks to help, better strategies and programs can be developed to address the challenges of agriculture.

The measurement of this success, however, remains problematic; Dr. Cutberto Garza, provost and dean of faculties of Boston College, asserts that money is the main measure in terms of cost effectiveness, revenues, and other markers of agriculture, and instead, goals need to be redefined in terms of human wellbeing. Begemann stated that milestones are needed to monitor progress instead of having a single, final, future outcome.

Dr. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, Chief Executive Officer and Head of Mission of the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network, and Ren Wang, Assistant Director General of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), both advocated for an increase in long-term, stable support and investment. Dr. Sibanda stated that investors need the confidence to make the long-term investments necessary to allow countries and organizations to address the larger challenges of hunger, with a focus on capacity-building and solutions that attract young people to agriculture.

There was also a discussion of the need for a shift in the paradigm surrounding food and agriculture research. Dr. Lopes first noted the difference between research that simply generates knowledge, and research that focuses on development. The paradigm of science “for” society separates these two ideas, when instead they should act in tandem. Dr. Sibanda also noted the difference between research for development and research in development - and the pronounced need for the latter. Science and society must be better integrated to comprehensively address the challenges of food and agriculture.

Food Tank will be live-blogging presentations from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' Global Food Security Symposium.

Commentary - Addressing Food Security Beyond our Food Supply

2013-05-21T12:42:56-05:00

This post is part of a series produced by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, marking the occasion of its annual Global Food Security Symposium in Washington, D.C., which will be held on May 21st. For more information on the symposium, click here. Follow @globalagdev and #globalag on twitter to join the conversation on May 21^st.

John Ginascol, Vice President of Global Supply Chain, Abbott Nutrition

I’ll soon be attending the Symposium on Agriculture and Food Security. It doesn’t happen often that world leaders, researchers and philanthropists have the chance to gather for two days to discuss the progress made in the past year – and the work that’s still ahead – in addressing food security challenges.

As a company, Abbott believes it’s important for people to have access to the right kinds of nutritional foods, regardless of their location. A more critical layer that is not always discussed, however, is making sure that the food is safe and of the highest quality.

I believe food safety is a shared responsibility; everyone benefits when consumers have access to safe, high quality products. This accountability to safety becomes more critical as the world— and world’s food supply— becomes more connected. To make sure the food we are delivering around the world is safe, it comes down to three needs. The need for standardization, collaboration and prevention.

Standardization

Food and nutrition companies are expanding their reach into new and emerging markets. Entering these markets can have its challenges, as many countries and regions have unique regulations and customer preferences. We must develop clear, internationally-accepted standards for the level and types of ingredients we use and how we test our products. Implementing more standardized processes leads to a more seamless regulatory process, and creates less confusion among companies and their customers around these differing standards.

Collaboration

No one company or organization can do this alone. To maintain the highest quality products for our consumers, we strongly believe that collaboration is critical, especially as companies enter new markets.

When Abbott expands into a new country or region, we become part of the community. We know our bottom line is inextricably linked to the public good, because the only way we can do well, is if the community thrives. One way we help the community is by working with local suppliers.

Suppliers are critical as they allow companies to source the best ingredients and technology and focus on their core competencies. While there are many benefits to working with suppliers, they need to follow the same safety standards. Companies must hold their suppliers to the same quality standards. This often means working closely with local suppliers to implement new quality and safety processes when first building relationships in new markets.

Prevention

The third need combines everything I’ve mentioned and makes sure we are not just talking about food safety, but implementing it into our day-to-day work to prevent food safety issues. Companies can look at how their manufacturing process proactively identifies any potential issues in order to quickly address them. We also can ensure that we have the communication strategies in place to quickly communicate with our customers and consumers.

I’m looking forward to gathering in Washington, D.C. to learn from other leaders who have the same end goal – making nutritious, safe food available to people around the world.

Live Blog - Chicago Council Global Food Security Symposium, Raj Shah: “All hands on deck”

2013-05-21T12:33:46-05:00

Danielle Nierenberg, co-founder, Food Tank

Raj Shah, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), described the Obama administration’s—and more broadly, civil society’s—efforts to fight global hunger as an “all hands on deck effort.”

He highlighted the Feed the Future program as President Obama’s landmark effort to fundamentally tackle global food insecurity. Shah emphasized that this program has been a key step to help lift millions from poverty, and been a critical piece of fighting poverty worldwide.

Fighting hunger encompasses three key areas: farm, market, and table. The goals, outlined by Shah, must be that “every farmer uses great seeds, every farming community is connected to markets, and every child has basic nutrition to grow and thrive.”

Much of the focus, says Shah, is on the farm and the market, which are both critical in achieving food security. However, Shah notes that long-term food security is not just defined by crop yields and access to markets, but includes humanitarian aid to the hungriest children and others in need.

Food Tank will be live-blogging presentations from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' Global Food Security Symposium.

Live Blog - Chicago Council: Dan Glickman and Catherine Bertini’s case for reengagement in food and ag issues

2013-05-21T12:29:05-05:00

Danielle Nierenberg, co-founder, Food Tank

Dan Glickman, former Secretary of Agriculture, kicked off the Chicago Council Global Food Security Symposium 2013, which has met annually since 2010. Glickman outlined a report issued in concert with the symposium, "Capitalizing on the Power of Science, Trade, and Business to End Hunger and Povery: A New Agenda for Global Food Security," which provides a strong voice for the United States to reengage and reevaluate its food and agriculture policies. The United States plays a key part in solving global hunger, and food and agriculture issues must be on the forefront of United States’ humanitarian and foreign policies.

Glickman affirmed, “water is the great issue of our time,” noting that agriculture contributes a significant portion to global water use. Agriculture and water issues are closely intertwined, and solutions to global food insecurity must examine water use and water issues.

Ninety-one percent of Americans believe that fighting world hunger is important. This broad-based support is seen on few other issues in the modern American political landscape. Glickman noted that it is within U.S. national interest to address food security, not only for humanitarian reasons. The potential for economic growth within agriculture in the developing world, particularly sub-Saharan African and Southeast Asia is profound.

Former Executive Director of the World Food Programme and recipient of the 2003 World Food Prize, Catherine Bertini continued the presentation of the Chicago Council report, highlighting three areas in which U.S. should recalibrate its global food and agriculture policy, with a focus on science, trade, and business.

Bertini believes that the fight against global food security must “harness experts from all scientific disciplines.” Food and agriculture is inherently multi and cross disciplinary, and includes plant scientists, economists, political scientists, and many more. Furthermore, agriculture sciences should be included within the definition of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Education.

First, the U.S. should broaden the focus of agriculture and food science. A more comprehensive outlook must address issues of sustainability and climate change in a way that the Green Revolution of the 1950s failed to do. Furthermore, Bertini emphasized the need to listen to those who are hungry and focusing on “famer inspired innovations.” By broadening the focus of agriculture science, Bertini believes that sustainable magnification of agriculture can occur in the developing world.

Fundamentally, Bertini asks, “How can we sustain future generations?” The Chicago Council Report calls for the doubling of U.S. investments in agriculture and food research over the next decade, and the inclusion of global food security within the broader economic and development policies. These adjustments are critical, according to Bertini, to ensuring global food security for an estimated population of nine billion by 2050.

Food Tank will be live-blogging presentations from the Chicago Council Global Food Security Symposium.

Live Blog - Brazil And Food Security: A "Remarkable Story" With Lessons For Others

2013-05-21T11:05:10-05:00

By Erin Stock, InterAction

In 40 years, Brazil went from importing most of its staples – such as rice, beans and milk – to being a major exporter of food worldwide. How?

Antonio Lopes, the president of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, points to “government decisions” – decisions to strengthen universities, hire and send researchers around the world for training, and create an enabling environment for the development of tropical agricultural.

“It had a tremendous impact on our country,” Lopes told attendees at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs annual Global Food Security Symposium today.

The question of “how Brazil did it” is one that Lopes frequently gets. It arose again today during a panel discussion on “A New Science of Agriculture to Advance Global Food Security," with the moderator calling Brazil's progress "a remarkable story."

Lopes explained that Brazil was able to move forward fast because of investments in “science-based agriculture” that improved efficiency, he said. The country has doubled its cultivated land since the 1970s, while multiplying by six times its agricultural output, he said. This balance of expanding agriculture and conserving the land is an important challenge, he later added.

Brazil had no model for tropical agriculture to mimic, either, which catalyzed the country to create its own, Lopes said. Many of these important decisions to advance agriculture development were also made when a military government was in power.

“I have to tell you that this had an impact,” he said, explaining that it was frankly easier for decisions to be made.

Today, Brazil continues to invest in agriculture development, he said. The government’s Science Without Frontiers program is sending 100,000 undergraduate and graduate students from Brazil around the world for training. Lopes’ organization was able to recently hire 1,000 new researchers through government funding as well, he said.

“We have to work with our policymakers if we are to make substantial advances in bringing new concepts of sustainable agriculture into reality,” he said.

Other panelists agreed. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, chief executive officer and head of mission for the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network, said it is critical to stimulate investment of research at a national government level. It is important that these investments support private sector involvement, initiatives grounded in farmer’s livelihoods, bold government vision and training for researchers who adapt their work for local contexts.

“What I take from the Brazil example – it’s this investment in people all around,” Sibanda said.

Erin Stock is the online coordinator for InterAction. This blog is cross-posted on the InterAction's blog. Follow @globalagdev and #globalag on Twitter to join the conversation.

Commentary - Today’s Challenge Requires Tomorrow’s Leaders

2013-05-21T10:57:22-05:00

This post is part of a series produced by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, marking the occasion of its annual Global Food Security Symposium in Washington, D.C., which will be held on May 21st. For more information on the symposium, click here. Follow @globalagdev and #globalag on twitter to join the conversation on May 21st.

Paul Schickler, President, DuPont Pioneer

In order to address the complex challenge of global food security outlined at The Chicago Council Global Food Security Symposium today, we need the enthusiasm of the next generation most of all. DuPont was pleased to support The Council’s first Next Generation delegation that enabled young leaders to participate in the discussion. And it’s critical they do so.

It is a challenge that will need to engage the best minds in IT to food processing, international trade to water and land resources, political reform to culinary sciences.

During my remarks, I urged the global leaders in the room to consider how they are supporting not today’s leaders, scientists, or farmers – but tomorrow’s. Because the unprecedented task we face depends as much on those outside of agriculture and the next generation as it does on all of us.

This is a problem that desperately requires the focus and attention—and yes, the enthusiasm—of the very best and brightest of the next generations.
My parents' generation put a man on the moon. My generation put a computer in every pocket. But they are child's play to the challenge of food security. And, if the challenges we set out sound dauntingly complex, keep in mind the astonishing innovation that has already occurred. Those who are not farmers are usually unaware—or just dimly aware—of how technologically sophisticated modern farming has become.

Today in North America, Brazil and other areas of the world, some farmers drive machines guided by satellites that can increase efficiencies by precisely planting and weeding and fertilizing and harvesting. A farmer with a smart phone, Internet, and GPS is practicing a profoundly different kind of agriculture than her great grandfather did behind a mule. And someday soon she may be growing crops tailored specifically to the conditions of her own fields and plant them using a joystick and a flat screen while sitting in the comfort of her office. On the other hand, of course, in many regions across the globe we still have smallholder farms planting and harvesting by hand.

How can these completely different realities be meshed in a seamless global system that can feed 9 billion? Can one person make any kind of significant contribution?

Plant scientist, George Washington Carver once said, "When you do common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world."

In 1894, Carver joined Iowa State University’s agriculture school faculty. While there, he befriended the Wallace family. And on a free day, Carver would take their young son, Henry, on nature walks, inspiring in him a lifelong fascination with the botanical classifications of wild flowers and prairie grasses. Henry Wallace grew up to be the Secretary of Agriculture and later, Vice President of the United States. He was also the founder and president of the world's first hybrid corn seed company, Pioneer, the business that I am privileged to lead today.

Consider this – what will you do to inspire the next generation of scientists, farmers or entrepreneurs? Can you make a difference in one person’s life? How about change the world?

You see, when Henry Wallace was the Secretary of Agriculture, he led efforts to start Mexico’s first experimental agricultural research centers to find more productive strains of wheat.

The program hired young Norman Borlaug as the project geneticist and plant pathologist. While in Mexico, Borlaug developed semi-dwarf, high-yield, disease-resistant wheat varieties and later introduced these varieties to Mexico, Pakistan, and India. Between 1965 and 1970, wheat yields nearly doubled in Pakistan and India, and Norman Borlaug—at a station dreamed up by Henry Wallace who had been inspired by George Washington Carver—is today credited with saving over one billion lives worldwide from starvation.

By your actions large and small – by the way your enthusiasm sparks the interest of a young professional in agriculture, by the uncommon way you do common things – you can make a real difference in this world.

Today, we helped give some of these young professionals joining this challenge a voice. Listen to their enthusiasm to help solve world hunger. And support them.

Together, we can feed the world.

Commentary - Stretching the Food Aid Dollar by Building Strong Local Markets

2013-05-21T09:39:07-05:00

This post is part of a series produced by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, marking the occasion of its annual Global Food Security Symposium in Washington, D.C., which will be held on May 21st. For more information on the symposium, click here. Follow @globalagdev and #globalag on twitter to join the conversation on May 21^st.

Jon Halverson
Vice President of Land O'Lakes International Development

Floods, typhoons and droughts. Market fluctuations and inflation. Unhealthy government transitions and local political flare-ups. Disease-ridden crops and tainted water sources. All of these shocks can devastate any country, but for nations combatting poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition, disasters often precipitate acute food security outbreaks that result in suffering and loss of life.

The U.S. Administration’s proposed food aid reforms will focus on combatting extreme vulnerability by strengthening disaster-prone communities through market development before emergencies happen. Under a pilot program in Bangladesh, Land O'Lakes International Development discovered that it is possible to deliver sustainable market-driven results in a country that faces recurrent shocks by building local capacity and making business linkages.

In 2010, we launched a one-year program called the Local and Regional Procurement (LRP) Pilot in Bangladesh. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Land O'Lakes worked with two local processors – Olympic and PRAN – to develop a cereal bar using locally-grown ingredients. The program paired the processors with Bangladeshi farmers, helping them to develop mutually beneficial business partnerships: Olympic and PRAN found a source for high quality ingredients, while farmers secured a dependable market for their goods.

The cereal bars, which were produced for a school feeding program in three extremely poor sub-districts of Jamalpur District, was the first of its kind to be developed in Bangladesh. By using sesame seeds, puffed rice, chickpeas and peanuts, nearly 100,000 schoolchildren and teachers in 441 schools enjoyed eating the new product that matched local tastes.

Reducing Cost, Speeding Up Delivery

Before the LRP began, we were working in Bangladesh leading a school nutrition program that relied on monetization to source ingredients. The program fed more than 260,000 students in nearly 1,000 schools with milk and biscuits, and witnessed a dramatic increase in attendance – as high as 95 percent.

The difference between the former school nutrition program and the LRP, however, was not just in the sourcing of ingredients. Our LRP initiative produced the cereal bars for about eight cents per bar, compared to the 20 to 26 cents cost for milk and biscuits. The program also began distributing the snacks rapidly to schools. Under most monetization programs, it takes about one year to distribute snacks to schools. With the LRP pilot, Land O’Lakes saw bars reach students in less than two months.

Cereal Bars Create Lasting Commercial Opportunity

When we helped form a supplier-buyer relationship between farmers and processors under the LRP pilot, two unintended consequences evolved. First, the processors, who realized that they could meet an unmet market opportunity, decided to invest with their own capital in new equipment that produced higher quality bars.

Second, we checked in with Olympic and PRAN in November 2012, more than a year after LRP closed, to see if they were still producing the cereal bars. Indeed, they were not only producing the bars, but they were selling 2.5 million bars commercially each month. Both processors also continue to source from local farmers. Olympic has expanded their product line to six varieties of cereal bars, which use different ingredients depending on the season. They have also begun constructing a new plant to meet market demand more efficiently.

Meeting Development Objectives with Food Aid Reform

The success of the Bangladesh pilot offers a unique incentive to other emergency local and regional procurement initiatives to make significant steps to capacitate local processors and strengthen value chains. By building strong business relationships that last beyond the life of the program, we see other opportunities for such programs to succeed in countries like Bangladesh that
are highly prone to shocks. If another disaster strikes this nation of 167 million people, this cereal bar could play an integral role in feeding those affected. Unlike other emergency rations that may require water, the bar is ready-to-eat and would prevent contamination with water-borne illnesses that often arise during disasters. Land O'Lakes sees the value that such LRP efforts can bring to countries like Bangladesh, and supports steps that will help meet development objectives through food aid reforms and ultimatley make populations more resilient in the face of future shocks.

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Land O’Lakes, Inc. (www.landolakesinc.com) is a national, farmer-owned food and agricultural cooperative with annual sales of $14 billion. The nation’s second-largest cooperative and number 194 on the Fortune 500, Land O’Lakes does business in all 50 states and more than 60 countries. Operating as a not-for-profit division of the cooperative, since 1981, Land O'Lakes International Development has improved the quality of life for millions of people in 76 nations through more than 275 projects worldwide that are generating economic growth, improving health and nutrition, and alleviate poverty by facilitating market-driven business solutions.

Bio for Jon Halverson

Jon Halverson joined Land O'Lakes in June 2012. As Vice President for International Development, Jon provides the strategic, business and administrative leadership for the division. He has more than 20 years of experience managing international business development, developing sustainable business models and leading executive teams in strategy development and implementation. His international experience includes both living and working overseas. During his 14 years at Cargill, he was responsible for strategy development, international mergers and acquisitions, as well as post-acquisition integration. In Africa, he successfully spearheaded more than 70 food and agriculture investments and led a business development process that generated more than $38 million in sales. In 2009, Jon founded both the Africa Middle Market Fund and Frontier Markets Consulting. Before joining Land O'Lakes, Jon served as the Managing Director for both organizations. In addition to his work experience, Jon has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wheaton College and a Masters of Business Administration from Regis University.