AgBioResearcher Appointed to Committee Addressing Global Poverty with Ag Development
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EmailTom Reardon was named to serve on an experts committee convened by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (CCGA) to provide critical input on the current food crisis and poverty alleviation strategies in developing countries.
Tom Reardon, AgBio agricultural economist and internationally recognized expert on global agrifood markets, was named to serve on an experts committee convened by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (CCGA) to provide critical input on the current food crisis and poverty alleviation strategies in developing countries.
Reardon is one of 10 national experts tapped to advise a group of a dozen U.S. business, civic and policy leaders on the issues and perspectives they should advance in this arena with the incoming U.S. administration and Congress.
"The current world food crisis has refocused global attention on the persistent problem of hunger and poverty alleviation in the developing world and to the current global food supply imbalance," Reardon said. "This committee will provide critical thinking and guidance on the options for new international and U.S. approaches, policies and programs to strategically and effectively address these issues."
The experts committee is central to a broad CCGA initiative, the Global Agricultural Development Project, which seeks to address global poverty through agricultural development, with an emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The project's overall objective is to secure a major U.S. commitment to the elimination of world hunger and world poverty in the years ahead.
The experts committee, which began its deliberations in September, will draft a white paper that provides recommendations and long-term strategic themes around U.S. foreign assistance for agricultural development. The draft will then be used by the leaders' group to produce a final white paper for distribution to key members of the incoming administration's transition team and congressional members in December. A final report will be disseminated in April 2009.
"I am very pleased that Tom has been asked to serve on this high-level committee," said MAES director Steve Pueppke. "This appointment is a testament to the breadth and depth of Tom's expertise and standing in the global agrifood industry field and also speaks to the caliber of researchers we have at MSU."
