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[前沿资讯 ] USDA Invests Nearly $2 Billion, Leverages American Agriculture to Feed Kids & Families 进入全文
美国农业部USDA
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today that it will provide close to $2 billion in additional funding to food banks and school meal programs for purchasing American-grown foods. The additional support will help these organizations endure supply chain challenges and elevated food costs as they continue to fulfill their mission of providing nutritious foods to kids and families in need. The funds, provided through USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation, or CCC, will be used in three ways: Nearly $1 billion to purchase food for emergency food providers like food banks Nearly $500 million to expand the Local Food Purchase Assistance, or LFPA, cooperative agreement program, through which 49 states, 33 tribes, and four territories are already working to purchase local foods for their emergency food systems; and Nearly $500 million for schools across the country to purchase food for their lunch and breakfast programs, bringing the total CCC investment in school food since December 2021 to close to $2.5 billion, benefiting the roughly 30 million students who participate in school lunch and 15 million who participate in school breakfast each day. “Funding these initiatives is paramount in the fight against hunger, and further demonstrates the Biden-Harris Administration and USDA’s commitment to strengthen food and nutrition security,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “We must ensure Americans have access to safe, healthy, affordable food for longevity and optimal health.” The investment is part of the Department’s broader commitment to strengthening the supply chain and making nutritious food more accessible for families. “Food banks and schools are the backbone of our nutrition safety net, serving tens of millions of children and families,” said Stacy Dean, Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services. “The Biden Administration understands that supply chain disruptions and high food costs have created uncertainties for these crucial partners, and we are committed to equipping them with the resources they need to keep communities fed, strong, and healthy.” “These programs directly connect American producers with food banks and schools, strengthening our rural economies while helping those most in need,” said Under Secretary of Marketing and Regulatory Programs, Jenny Lester Moffitt. “As part of the Biden Administration’s commitment to transforming our nation’s food system, USDA is dedicated to fostering partnerships between producers and food assistance programs. Working together, farmers, food banks, and schools, can improve our nation’s food and nutrition security.” The Biden Administration has taken bold, broad-reaching actions to help mitigate the effects of inflation on American families and ensure they can keep healthy food on the table. Other recent USDA efforts to help families cope with high food costs and other challenges include: Purchasing up to $50 million in domestically produced rice: Earlier this week, USDA announced plans to purchase rice for distribution to a variety of domestic food assistance programs, including charitable institutions, to help address the worsened risk of hunger and food insecurity caused by disruptions in the domestic food supply chain resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Providing summertime child food benefits: USDA is providing the families of nearly 32 million children with approximately $391 per child for summer 2022, with higher amounts in Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories. These benefits through the Summer P-EBT program are helping families cover food costs. Offering broad support for school meals: In addition to providing schools with additional funds to purchase food, USDA launched a school meals webpage for families with information about applying for free and reduced-price school meals; encouraged states to maximize their resources for serving more kids through school meals; provided schools and child care centers with additional temporary reimbursements and other flexibilities; and more. Increasing WIC purchasing power: USDA extended the WIC cash-value benefit increase through the end of this fiscal year so WIC families can buy and consume more fruits and vegetables to support their overall health. Bolstering food banks: On top of the CCC funds announced today, USDA continues to provide significant funding for food banks and pantries to help them meet increasing needs. Strengthening connections and food access across local and regional food systems: In addition to the funds announced today, USDA has provided $400 million for local purchasing through LFPA and $200 million to help schools procure local products through the Local Food for Schools cooperative agreement program. Supporting a food system that is equitable, resilient, and fair. These efforts build on USDA’s generational investment to transform our food system in support of more and better markets for both consumers and producers. Additional details on this broader effort are available at www.usda.gov/build-back-better. Background on the nearly $1 billion purchase of food for emergency food providers: USDA will use $943 million to procure USDA Foods for use by emergency feeding organizations facing increased need. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and Food and Nutrition Service will work jointly to identify products most likely to be available for purchase, and offer those products based on a formula to The Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP, State agencies for further distribution to local agencies, primarily food banks. USDA will open orders in Fiscal Year 2023, with deliveries occurring on an ongoing basis throughout Fiscal Years 2023 and 2024. A percentage of the $943 million will support incidental costs incurred by local agencies for the storage and transportation of the USDA Foods, as provided for under the authority at section 5(c) of the Charter Act. Funds will be allocated to State agencies in proportion to the amount of food ordered for local distribution, with all funds passed through to the local agencies. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and its Commodity Procurement Program annually buy more than $3 billion of domestically produced and processed meat, poultry, fruit, vegetables, dairy, grains and oilseed. These purchases of wholesome, high-quality products, collectively called USDA Foods, support American agriculture by encouraging the consumption of domestic foods and provide safe, nutritious food for a variety of federal, state and international nutrition assistance programs. They are delivered to schools, food banks and households in communities across the country and are a vital component of our nation’s food safety net. Background on the nearly $500 million for Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program: LFPA supports states, territories and tribes to purchase food from historically underserved producers as well as local and regional producers to support emergency food assistance efforts. An allocation of $471.5 million will be used for cooperative agreements with states, tribes, and territories to purchase locally available food grown within each state or within 400 miles of the delivery destination that will be distributed to meet the unique local needs of each community through emergency nutrition programs, including food banks, schools and organizations that reach underserved communities. Background on the nearly $500 million for schools across the country to purchase food for their lunch and breakfast programs: An investment of another $471.5 million will be used for the third round of Supply Chain Assistance funds provided to States to support the purchase of American-grown foods for their meal programs. Supply Chain Assistance funding can be used by school districts to purchase unprocessed and minimally processed domestic food such as fresh fruit, milk, cheese, frozen vegetables and ground meat. Each state will allocate the funds to schools based on student enrollment, with a minimum amount per district to ensure that small schools are not left behind. This assistance builds on the two rounds of Supply Chain Assistance funds that totaled nearly $2 billion that USDA previously allocated in December 2021 and June 2022. These funds deliver direct relief from ongoing supply chain issues and improve the quality and consistency of school meals for children in communities experiencing disruptions, making it easier for schools to operate successful meal programs.
[前沿资讯 ] 农业农村部：从四方面推动农业服务贸易发展 进入全文
新华社
农业服务贸易是向国（境）外提供或购买农业相关服务的贸易形式。农业农村部副部长马有祥2日说，应从加快制度开放、强化创新引领、优化发展格局、搭建交流平台这四方面推动农业服务贸易发展。 马有祥是在当日举行的首届国际农业服务贸易大会上作出上述表述的。 伴随新一轮科技革命和产业变革的兴起，数字技术广泛渗入农业生产、流通、消费各个方面，农业服务贸易的内涵不断丰富、外延不断拓展，已覆盖农业产前、产中、产后各环节。 马有祥表示，当前全球粮食安全面临复杂多样的安全挑战，促进农业全要素综合生产力提高、保障供应链畅通高效、实现全球发展议程零饥饿目标，不仅需要农业跨境投资和农产品贸易的稳定增长，而且需要大力发展农业领域的服务贸易。 他指出，应从四方面推动农业服务贸易发展： 一是加快制度开放，做大农业服务贸易蛋糕，推动形成公平、公正、合理的农业服务贸易规则，降低和消除服务贸易壁垒，为全球农业服务贸易发展提供良好的制度环境； 二是强化创新引领，提升农业服务贸易质量，不断促进农业服务多元要素集成整合，推动农业服务贸易产品创新、应用创新、科技创新、模式创新、组织创新，提供更优质量、更低成本、更加绿色的农业服务； 三是优化发展格局，共享农业服务贸易红利，带动更多国家和地区融入全球农业服务贸易发展，促进扩大多主体供给，逐步缩小南北鸿沟，完善利益联结机制，将农业服务贸易增值更多让利于小农； 四是搭建交流平台，加强农业服务贸易合作，加强农业服务领域交流，分享实践经验，强化基础研究，凝聚广泛共识。 据介绍，由农业农村部主办的首届国际农业服务贸易大会，是2022年服贸会系列论坛之一，以“农业服务贸易：经贸合作新模式 农业升级新路径”为主题，旨在搭建国际交流平台，深入探讨农业服务贸易的内涵与价值、机遇与挑战、趋势与合作等议题，凝聚发展共识，深化国际合作。
[前沿资讯 ] 韩正在香港第七届“一带一路”高峰论坛上发表视频致辞 进入全文
新华社
8月31日，由香港特别行政区政府、香港贸易发展局共同主办的第七届“一带一路”高峰论坛在香港举行。中共中央政治局常委、国务院副总理韩正以视频方式出席论坛并发表题为《携手开创共建“一带一路”新篇章》的致辞。 韩正表示，习近平主席提出的共建“一带一路”倡议，得到国际社会广泛认同和热情参与，取得了实打实、沉甸甸的成就，已成为具有广泛影响力和包容性的国际经济合作平台。中国将坚持共商共建共享原则，以高标准、可持续、惠民生为目标，继续加强与共建国家合作，巩固互联互通合作基础，稳步拓展合作新领域，坚定不移推进“一带一路”高质量发展，与共建国家携手推动构建人类命运共同体。 韩正指出，香港是共建“一带一路”的积极参与者、贡献者，也是受益者。中央将长期坚持“一国两制”方针，完全支持香港长期保持独特地位和优势，全力支持香港积极参与和助力“一带一路”建设。他提出四点希望。一是希望香港继续主动作为，拓展畅通便捷的国际联系，与共建国家开展更多务实合作。二是希望香港做强专业服务，为“一带一路”建设提供法律、航运、金融、咨询等专业服务，打造“一带一路”综合服务平台。三是希望香港加强人文交流，发挥对外文化交流窗口作用，促进“一带一路”沿线民心相通。四是希望香港深化与内地合作，继续深入对接共建“一带一路”倡议，更加积极主动融入国家发展大局
[前沿资讯 ] “一带一路”倡议助力沿线国家农业合作 进入全文
新华社
“如今，我们的苹果、猕猴桃远销全球80多个国家和地区，陕茶穿越丝路古道‘香’誉四海……”这是第六届丝绸之路国际博览会“一带一路”农业贸易与乡村振兴论坛上，主办地陕西省的农产品出口情况介绍。 近年来，随着“一带一路”倡议持续推进，中国与沿线国家积极开展农业领域合作，携手维护区域粮食安全，已与80多个国家签署农渔业合作文件，在“一带一路”沿线国家开展农业投资合作的项目超过650个。 “‘一带一路’地区地域广阔、农业资源丰富，是我国开展农业合作和贸易的重要区域，在保障粮食安全、农产品安全方面能够发挥显著作用。”西北大学经济管理学院院长、陕西省丝绸之路经济带建设协同创新中心副主任马莉莉说。 据海关总署统计，2021年，中国自“一带一路”沿线国家进口农产品3265.5亿元，增长26.1%。农产品贸易规模稳步提升，产业链供应链合作更加密切。 西安爱菊粮油工业集团始建于1934年，是一家传统的粮油企业。2015年，企业积极响应国家“一带一路”倡议，走出国门，建立海外园区工厂，在哈萨克斯坦推广订单农业种植模式。如今，爱菊集团已与哈萨克斯坦20多个农场主签署农业订单，协议涵盖小麦、油料作物约150万亩，园区粮油加工仓储能力达30万吨。 今年以来，受疫情冲击、极端天气、地缘冲突等因素影响，全球粮食产业链供应链受到冲击，国际粮价高位运行，很多低收入国家陷入粮食危机。由联合国5家机构于7月6日发布的2022年《世界粮食安全和营养状况》指出，2021年全球受饥饿影响的人数已达8.28亿，较2020年增加约4600万，自新冠疫情暴发以来累计增加1.5亿。 专家建议，未来，“一带一路”沿线国家的农业合作可以从农业政策、农业技术、人才交流、农产品贸易与金融投资等诸多方面进行提质升级。 联合国粮农组织驻华代表文康农指出，贸易可以将农业食品系统和人联系起来，它在为全球消费者提供充足、多样化和营养丰富的食品方面发挥着重要作用，并为各国农业和食品行业的农民、工人创造了收入和就业机会。 农业农村部国际交流服务中心主任顾卫兵说：“我们比以往任何时候都更需要创新农业科技，优化生产方式，激发农业发展活力，联手应对自然灾害，在平等互利的原则下共享农业发展成果。”
[前沿资讯 ] FAO welcomes $83 million USA contribution to emergency and resilience programmes 进入全文
联合国粮农组织FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today welcomed an $83 million contribution from the United States of America designed to bolster the agency’s emergency and resilience programmes in Ethiopia, Afghanistan and Sudan, as well as in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Burkina Faso, the Sahel and the West Africa region. It follows a recent commitment of $80 million from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) specifically focused on improving food security and nutrition in Afghanistan. “We are grateful to the United States of America for this important contribution towards FAO’s mandate,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. “Safeguarding the rural livelihoods of the vulnerable is central to averting catastrophe and saving lives through the development of local production. Such funding is critical to respond agilely and at scale in food crisis contexts.” Given its mandate to end hunger, its longstanding country presence, and its substantial expertise and experience in both humanitarian and development contexts, FAO has a unique role to play in preventing and addressing acute hunger and supporting countries that are experiencing food crises return to a path of growth and prosperity. Protecting livelihoods by providing emergency agricultural assistance from the onset of a crisis enables people to produce food and earn an income, while a rapid and efficient response to agricultural threats and emergencies saves lives, promotes recovery and reduces the gap between dependency on food assistance and self-reliance. The new contribution was announced by Ambassador Cindy McCain, Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the UN agencies in Rome. The funds are designed to improve the availability and access to food in crises contexts, by supplying aid and technical assistance to smallholder farmers and livestock-dependent communities, focusing on crop and livestock production. The Unites States of America has been the largest resource partner of FAO’s humanitarian and resilience programme since 2017. The latest contribution, part of the annual support from USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, represents a three-fold increase in funds from the previous year. Bolstering emergency and resilience efforts FAO’s work in Ethiopia stands to receive $32 million in emergency support to improve crop production in the Tigray region, where conflict is a key driver of severe food shortages. FAO is already scaling up the urgent delivery of fertilizers in the northern Ethiopian region to help farmers sow their fields in the midst of the crucial planting season. The new funds will facilitate the targeted distribution of agricultural inputs, such as fertilizers and seeds, and the training of 344 000 households (involving an estimated 1 720 000 people) on fertilizer application and handling, good agronomic practices, post-harvest handling and value addition. A further $30 million of the USA contribution announced today have been earmarked for emergency livelihood assistance to safeguard food and nutrition security in Afghanistan, where local food production and the incomes of the most vulnerable rural families have been affected by multiple shocks, including back-to-back droughts and a deepening economic crisis. More than 70 percent of Afghans live in rural areas, and millions of men, women and children could face catastrophe in 2022 unless agriculture and livestock production are continuously supported. FAO plans to use the funds there to improve the food and nutrition security status of 2 065 000 vulnerable and marginalized people through the distribution of winter wheat cultivation packages, a livestock protection package for herders in areas affected by drought, and multi-purpose cash transfers to households without access to land and limited labour force within the family. An additional $15 million have been earmarked to bolster food security and livelihoods in Sudan, while the remaining amounts will target people in need in Burkina Faso and the region of West Africa and help mitigate the impact of an outbreak of African Swine Fever in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
[前沿资讯 ] Fight heat waves to ensure food security 进入全文
China Daily
Intense heat waves have hit many parts of the world, including the United States, many European countries, East and Central Africa, India, Pakistan, Chile, the Republic of Korea and southern China. Very high temperatures combined with rain shortfall have caused severe droughts, lowered water levels in rivers and reservoirs, and hastened the melting of glaciers in many parts of the world, which could seriously affect global grain output and, along with the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and high global inflation and economic downturn, exacerbate food security risks. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Crop Prospects and Food Situation, issued last month, precipitation in Somalia, northern and eastern Kenya and southern Ethiopia was unusually low from March to May, leading to crop failure. As a result, cereal production in Somalia is expected to be 40-60 percent below average. In pastoral areas, dry weather has been hampering the regeneration of pastures and the replenishment of the underground water table, severely affecting herds and causing widespread livestock deaths. In fact, Ethiopia has lost about 2.5 million animals, Somalia 3 million and Kenya more than 1.5 million, and the figures are expected to increase in the coming months Worse, by the end of June, the number of food-insecure people in Kenya, Somalia and southern Ethiopia had reached 16.5 million, up 80 percent year-on-year. But Africa is not the lone victim of the high temperatures and heat waves. Extreme heat and widespread droughts have seriously affected agricultural production in the European Union, according to the US Department of Agriculture. In the 2022-23 market year, corn production in the EU is expected decline by 15.5 percent to 60 million tons — 10 percent below the past five years’ annual average. And the wheat output of 132.1 million tons is expected to be 4.5 percent lower year-on-year. Wheat output in India and Pakistan, too, is likely to decline — by 6 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively — while corn output could fall by 4.6 percent and 6.3 percent. As such, food prices are expected to rise further in the fall, exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis. As for China, the summer grain harvest this year was 147 million metric tons, up 1 percent year-on-year. But the July-September period is critical for fall grain output, and the eastern, southern and southwestern parts of the country have been experiencing unusually high temperatures since July, a trend that meteorologists say is likely to continue. According to the Ministry of Water Resources, drought has affected 32.99 million mu (2.2 million hectares) of arable land, 2.46 million people, and 350,000 farm animals in nine provinces, including Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan and Sichuan provinces, and Chongqing municipality. To deal with the situation, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has dispatched provincial liaison groups and scientific and technological experts to key fall grain producing areas, especially those severely affected. Also, on Aug. 11, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters launched a four-level emergency response mechanism to better manage drought-resistant water sources, implement emergency water supply measures, and ensure water supply for irrigation, in order to minimize the effects of the dry weather on agriculture. Also, the central finance and disaster relief authorities have released about 500 million yuan to support drought relief work. However, high temperatures are not exceptional to this year. As a matter of fact, extreme heat could become the new normal, with more frequent, longer lasting heat waves. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that if global temperatures rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius, heat waves will increase, and summers will be longer and winters shorter. And if global temperatures were to rise by 2 C, extreme heat could cause serious health issues both for humans, agriculture and livestock. Besides, studies show that adapting to and fighting climate change is becoming increasingly costly, with Africa facing the biggest threat to food security. So China, while intensifying efforts to cope with extreme heat and ensure a bumper grain harvest in the fall, should play a bigger role in global food security governance and strengthen cooperation with the international community to minimize the negative impacts on global food security. First, there is an urgent need for the international community to provide assistance where needed including supplying food to the affected regions in Africa, establishing social safety nets, and safeguarding the livelihoods of poor families, given the funding gap in the World Food Programme this year — the WFP needs $22.2 billion to help 152 million people in need but is facing a fund shortage. Second, the Chinese authorities should strengthen research and development and increase investment in green technologies, climate-resistant crops and strengthen management. Chinese scientists have already developed new strains of heat-resistant and higher yield rice, The high-temperature resistance genes are already conserved in other major crops, such as wheat, corn, soybean and vegetables, and are valuable resources for breeding high heat stress tolerant crops to reduce crop losses caused by rising temperature. Third, infrastructure construction should be expedited to improve “drought irrigation and flood drainage” during extreme weather events, so crop output is not affected. Fourth, the authorities also need to take measures to improve the agriculture and food production systems in order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, because the global agriculture and agri-food sector accounts for a third of the total GHG emissions. Fifth, agricultural insurance and green finance should be used to strengthen climate risk management and safeguard agriculture. For example, China’s central financial agricultural insurance premium subsidy of 33.3 billion yuan ($4.8 billion) in 2021 helped protect farmers against natural disasters, allowing them to be better cope with climate risks.
