The State Department announced this year’s World Food Prize Laureate is Heidi Kühn, founder and CEO of the non-profit Roots of Peace. Through her efforts, she has shown more than a million people living in war-torn regions a way to restore peace and prosperity through agriculture.
Ms. Kühn starts by working with demining organizations to clear landmines. Then she engages with farmers to replant fields with modern agriculture practices. Ms. Kühn began by partnering with wineries in her home state of California to raise funds to remove landmines in Croatia and replant vineyards and orchards. Then she took this model to Afghanistan. After clearing land mines there, she helped farmers – including more than 5,000 women – produce high-quality crops.
At the World Food Prize Laureate announcement ceremony, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States is deeply committed to addressing food insecurity on all fronts:
“We’ve long been the largest single donor of global food assistance . . . Last year, we contributed $13.5 billion to these efforts – when we had the Russian aggression exacerbate the problem, we doubled down on what we were doing. We provide more than 40 percent of the World Food Program’s budget every year. We’re also working to sustain the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which has facilitated the delivery of more than 29 million metric tons of food from Ukraine to the global market since July.”
“We are also investing in sustainable, long-term food production,” said Secretary Blinken:
“Last May, we helped launch the Roadmap for Global Food Security, which calls on countries to fight hunger for generations to come . . . More than 100 countries have signed on and pledged to take swift, concrete steps toward building stronger, more resilient food systems, from improving access to markets for farmers to boosting the productivity of crops. We’re putting a special focus on adapting agriculture to the changing environment that we’re all experiencing. We’re helping farmers learn techniques that make their crops more resilient.”
The United States expanded USAID’s Feed the Future program last year, from 12 target countries to 20, which will help farmers produce more crops, raise healthier livestock, and grow their businesses.
The United States shares the commitment of Heidi Kühn and countless others who are working to end food insecurity.
