Food Security
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
-Lao Tzu
Development programs are meant to improve the lives of participants, not to create dependency. As a development professional, I believe our role is to facilitate change; to model appropriate technologies and to help farmers analyze the risks and benefits of different options. Included in this section are samples of value chains and infrastructure projects I spearheaded with a highly competent team of agronomists, engineers and heath personnel while I oversaw implementation of USAID Title II, Food for Peace, Development Assistance Programs. These are usually large multi sectoral grants, which use US food aid for maternal child health and nutrition programming, as well as for Food for Work, disaster preparedness, conservation of infrastructure and natural resource management. These are complex programs, which require both commodity management expertise and programmatic competency and vision. See links below to the findings of rigorous external evaluations as well generic indicators or standard Title II program indicators.
-Lao Tzu
Development programs are meant to improve the lives of participants, not to create dependency. As a development professional, I believe our role is to facilitate change; to model appropriate technologies and to help farmers analyze the risks and benefits of different options. Included in this section are samples of value chains and infrastructure projects I spearheaded with a highly competent team of agronomists, engineers and heath personnel while I oversaw implementation of USAID Title II, Food for Peace, Development Assistance Programs. These are usually large multi sectoral grants, which use US food aid for maternal child health and nutrition programming, as well as for Food for Work, disaster preparedness, conservation of infrastructure and natural resource management. These are complex programs, which require both commodity management expertise and programmatic competency and vision. See links below to the findings of rigorous external evaluations as well generic indicators or standard Title II program indicators.
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The graphic on the left is an example of Value Chains developed with farmers in the Bolivian Altiplano and adjacent valleys. The purpose of this activity was to help farmers see how what they produce fits into the local market and to analyze value chain opportunities. To participate farmers had to modify agricultural practices to meet strict buyer specifications, but these practices improved the value of their production and therefore their household income. They also needed to collectively ensure sufficient supply for buyers to commit to working with them, so many joined together in farmer associations. They all needed to adhere to strict guidelines for this to work effectively. Reflective Statement : Select this link to access my description and analysis of the merits of a Value Chain approach. While working with Save the Children, our food security programs often had infrastructure components. The photos on the left demonstrate a few of the infrastructure projects my teams developed under USAID Title II Development Assistance Programs in Bolivia and Bangladesh. Infrastructure usually targeted specific pillars of food security such as food availability (irrigation), or market access (roads), or food utilization (water and sanitation). Sometimes these projects facilitated value chains as well. More often they provided multiple benefits (i.e. access to markets but also to health services). These projects had profound impact on the lives of many poor people improving their health, incomes and natural resources. Results Bolivia | Results Bangladesh | Indicators |