Board for International Food and Agricultural Development

Board for International Food and Agricultural Development

"The Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) is a presidentially-appointed advisory council to USAID, whose primary role is to advise on agriculture, rural development and nutrition issues related to global food insecurity. The Board is comprised of seven members, four of whom must represent the academic community. BIFAD was established by Title XII of the Foreign Assistance Act. Title XII, the ‘Famine Prevention and Freedom from Hunger Act’, was passed by Congress in 1975 to address global food and hunger issues not unlike those faced by the world today."

2003 Presentation on Green Revolution

In a June 2003 meeting, SPARE (Strategic Partnership for Agricultural Research & Education, a committee of BIFAD) chairman Robert Evenson presented on his paper on the Green Revolution that was recently published in Science Magazine.

"He explained that this article should give the Board a useful perspective on development, the global agricultural development experience and the U.S. funding of development as these facts relate to CRSP [Collaborative Research Support Program] activities. Main points covered:

• 1. Acceptance by host countries of new technologies from the CGIAR centers and the Green Revolution vary from area to area. Diffusion rates are highest in Latin America, next in Asia and slowest in Middle East and North Africa and slowest of all in sub-

Saharan Africa.

• 2. There is a strong correlation between rate of development, per capita growth of income, use of fertilizers and other technology.
• 3. There is also a very strong correlation between growth rate and the level of human capital development/ capacity. The only route out of poverty is to build human capacity. If you do not have human capacity, you do not see growth in personal incomes.
• 4. Historically, it was USAID that built the essential human capacity that allowed for the Green Revolution to occur in the poorest countries. But recently USAID has abandoned much of its support to agriculture, the corner stone of economic development. Now, with the projected importance of biotechnology, renewed investment in developing human capacity is even more necessary and vital for the future of the developing world."

Members

BIFAD Board Members (as of 2011):

• Brady Deaton, BIFAD Chair & Chancellor, University of Missouri
• Gebisa Ejeta, Distinguished Professor, Purdue University & 2009 World Food Prize Laureate
• Catherine Bertini, Professor, Syracuse University & 2003 World Food Prize Laureate
• William DeLauder, President Emeritus, Delaware State University
• Elsa Murano, Professor & President Emerita, Texas A&M University
• Jo Luck, President, Heifer International & 2010 World Food Prize Laureate
• Marty McVey, President, McVey & Associates LLC

Previous members:

• M. Peter McPherson, President Emeritus, Michigan State University (2003-2006)
• Robert Easter, Dean, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois (2006-2007)
• Allen Christensen, Director, Ezra Taft Benson Agriculture and Food Institute, Brigham Young University (2006-2007)
• Sharron Quisenberry, Dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (2003-2007)
• Timothy Rabon, President, Mesa Verde Enterprises, Inc. (2006-2007)
• Carol Lewis, Dean, School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences, University of Alaska, Fairbanks (2003-2005)
• Anthony Laos, President & CEO, Stauffer Seeds, Omaha, Nebraska (2003-2005)
• Stewart Iverson, Jr., Dows, Iowa, Iowa State Senate Majority Leader (2003-2005)
• Mike Deegan, Cooperative Management Specialist, Vienna, Virginia (2003-2005)

Articles and Resources

Related SourceWatch Articles

• Strategic Partnership for Agricultural Research and Education
• Feed the Future
• USAID

External Resources

• Collaborative Research Support Programs for the U.S. Feed the Future Plan, CRSP Council, 2011.