USDA, USAID to help U.S. companies do business in Africa
August 05, 2014 | 07:18 PM
The Agriculture Department and the Agency for International Development both made commitments today to help U.S. firms do business in Africa, the White House announced as part of President Barack Obama’s summit with African leaders.
USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation will make available up to $1 billion in financing guarantees available for agricultural exports to Africa over the next two years, the White House said in a news release. USDA also will conduct outreach seminars to Africa in 2015 to promote the use of its credit guarantee program for the export of U.S. agricultural products.
USAID will roll out a Benchmarking the Business of Agriculture (BBA) project this fall, to assesses the ease of doing business and investing in Africa’s agriculture, the White House added. The BBA will provide businesses worldwide with objective information on a country’s ease of doing business in agriculture, according to a White House fact sheet.
Those commitments are part of the administration’s Doing Business in Africa campaign.
At a U.S.-Africa Business Forum today, Obama announced $7 billion in new financing to promote U.S. exports to and investments in Africa under the campaign.
Obama, who is hosting the African leaders at dinner tonight at the White House, also said at the forum today, “Agricultural development is critical because it’s the best way to boost incomes for the majority of Africans who are farmers, especially as they deal with the impacts of climate change.”
U.S. companies announced new deals in clean energy, aviation, banking, and construction worth more than $14 billion, in addition to $12 billion in new commitments under the president’s Power Africa initiative from private sector partners, the World Bank, and the government of Sweden.
“Taken together, these new commitments amount to more than $33 billion, supporting economic growth across Africa and tens of thousands of U.S. jobs,” the White House said.
Judith Rodin
The International Fertilizer Development Institute, a Muscle Shoals, Ala., organization, said in a news release that a USAID-Rockefeller Foundation Global Resilience Partnership announced Monday “is critical to achieving food security while reducing the impact of climate change in Africa.”
Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin said in a blog post Monday that the partnership, which begins with $100 million in funding, “will work to coordinate resources, scale innovations, and engage new actors” to avoid disasters in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and South and Southeast Asia.
At present, “one in three dollars spent on development is lost to disaster, requiring huge expenditures in relief and humanitarian aid,” Rodin said.
The White House also announced that “more than $10 billion will be realized through responsible private investments as part of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, which President Obama launched at the 2012 G8 Summit at Camp David.”
The New Alliance also released a progress report that said that since 2012:
USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation will make available up to $1 billion in financing guarantees available for agricultural exports to Africa over the next two years, the White House said in a news release. USDA also will conduct outreach seminars to Africa in 2015 to promote the use of its credit guarantee program for the export of U.S. agricultural products.
USAID will roll out a Benchmarking the Business of Agriculture (BBA) project this fall, to assesses the ease of doing business and investing in Africa’s agriculture, the White House added. The BBA will provide businesses worldwide with objective information on a country’s ease of doing business in agriculture, according to a White House fact sheet.
Those commitments are part of the administration’s Doing Business in Africa campaign.
At a U.S.-Africa Business Forum today, Obama announced $7 billion in new financing to promote U.S. exports to and investments in Africa under the campaign.
Obama, who is hosting the African leaders at dinner tonight at the White House, also said at the forum today, “Agricultural development is critical because it’s the best way to boost incomes for the majority of Africans who are farmers, especially as they deal with the impacts of climate change.”
U.S. companies announced new deals in clean energy, aviation, banking, and construction worth more than $14 billion, in addition to $12 billion in new commitments under the president’s Power Africa initiative from private sector partners, the World Bank, and the government of Sweden.
“Taken together, these new commitments amount to more than $33 billion, supporting economic growth across Africa and tens of thousands of U.S. jobs,” the White House said.
The International Fertilizer Development Institute, a Muscle Shoals, Ala., organization, said in a news release that a USAID-Rockefeller Foundation Global Resilience Partnership announced Monday “is critical to achieving food security while reducing the impact of climate change in Africa.”
Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin said in a blog post Monday that the partnership, which begins with $100 million in funding, “will work to coordinate resources, scale innovations, and engage new actors” to avoid disasters in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and South and Southeast Asia.
At present, “one in three dollars spent on development is lost to disaster, requiring huge expenditures in relief and humanitarian aid,” Rodin said.
The White House also announced that “more than $10 billion will be realized through responsible private investments as part of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, which President Obama launched at the 2012 G8 Summit at Camp David.”
The New Alliance also released a progress report that said that since 2012:
- It has expanded from three to 10 African countries
- Nearly 180 African and international companies have signed letters of intent to invest $7.8 billion in African agriculture, $1.1 billion of which was realized in 2013.
- Private investments have reached 3 million smallholders and created more than 36,600 jobs.
- African governments have advanced or completed 96 percent of policy commitments scheduled for completion by mid-2014.
- Development partners have disbursed $2.1 billion, or 72 percent of expected funding to date
