Secretary Kerry spoke at this morning’s Working Session on Resilience and Food Security in a Changing Climate at the Africa Summit, a panel moderated by USAID Administrator Raj Shah and John Podesta, former chief of staff to President Clinton and a current senior adviser to President Obama.

Kerry’s remarks underscored the commitments the U.S is already making to food security, and the need to sustain and further those initiatives in harmony with individual countries and the African Union to best address the real and current impacts of climate change.

Feed the Future, for example, supports farmers in 12 African countries to make crops more productive, resilient, and nutritious through the distribution of high-yielding seed varieties to 1.8 million farmers (7 million globally) among other avenues. According to a newly released fact sheet, the program, “is driven by country led priorities and rooted in partnership with governments, other donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success.” Secretary Kerry also mentioned The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, which expands “private sector investment and public-private partnerships for smallholder farming to reduce poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The event came shortly after a White House statement regarding President Obama’s impending announcement of a $14 billion U.S private sector commitment to investing in business on the African continent. Both releases emphasized mutually beneficial relationships between the U.S and Africa, highlighting shared interests and opportunities for stable economic growth.

For more:

President Obama Announces $14 billion in business deals with Africa

Secretary Kerry’s Remarks

Fact Sheet on U.S -African Cooperation on Food Security

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