This year marks the 40^th anniversary of the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 addressing gender equity in educational programming. For the first time, this groundbreaking legislation mandated equal opportunity for women in all fields of federally funded public education. The passage of Title IX changed the American education system in ways unimaginable just decades earlier.

Pat Leavenworth, NRCS Wisconsin State Conservationist, welcomes attendees to the 2012 USDA Interagency Conference. NRCS is the current lead agency for Federal Women’s Program, who hosts the conference.

The Wisconsin USDA Interagency Conference, hosted by the Federal Women’s Program (FWP), is also celebrating its 40^th year of existence. Read more »

Dr. Catherine Woteki, USDA Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet with 70 private sector representatives at the first Feed the Future Public-Private Partnership Technical Forum, hosted jointly by USDA, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Department of State at the White House Conference Center. We discussed potential partnerships to increase agricultural growth in developing countries. Then we rolled up our sleeves got to work aligning investments and connecting individuals and activities. Read more »

The United States has a long history of helping those in need and USDA has played a large role in these efforts over the years. The U.S. government’s food assistance programs were born in a time of conflict. Food aid played a crucial role in the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Acting Under Secretary Michael Scuse reflected on America’s food aid legacy and renewed efforts to combat world hunger during a speech today at the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) Nutrition and Development Conference. Read more »

Team in field (L-R): Emmanuel Prophete, MARNDR; Emily Spiegel, FAS; Jimmy Moore, NRCS; Denise Hann, Forest Service; and Mike McGahuey, FAS assigned to USAID.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti. The earthquake devastated the already fragile and poor country, killing more than 300,000 people, and brought economic activities to a standstill leaving the capital of Port au Prince in a condition that is almost unfathomable to most Americans. In the aftermath of the disaster, the focus on the U.S. government gradually switched from response to recovery. Read more »

This article appeared on May 14, 2010 in the USA Today.

The secret as to how Afghanistan will achieve a stable, secure future really is no secret at all: agriculture.
 
So it was not surprising during this week’s meetings in Washington between U.S. and Afghan officials that agriculture was a key topic of discussion.
 
In Afghanistan, 85 percent of the population relies on agriculture to earn a living, and strengthening Afghanistan’s agricultural sector is a critical element in stabilizing the nation. But until the agriculture sector can support legitimate crops like wheat and fruits, the Taliban will continue to prey upon disaffected, out of work youth and push the production of poppy.  Unfortunately, poppy production provides little return to the farmers; pomegranates will earn a farmer five times that of poppy on the open market, almonds will earn seven, and grapes will earn eight times as much.  
 
That is why the United States and Afghanistan are working together with a shared strategy to rebuild Afghanistan’s once vibrant agricultural economy.  Our efforts are already yielding results in troubled provinces such as Helmand, the heart of Afghan poppy production.
 
The strategy is four-fold. First, we must increase the productivity of staple crops such as wheat, introduce complementary crops such as soybeans, and improve the yields of cash crops like horticulture and nuts. Second, we must protect Afghanistan’s natural resources by investing in watershed management, sustainable forestry efforts and soil conservation. Third, we must redouble our efforts to rebuild the country’s agricultural marketing system and return Afghanistan to its once-prominent position as the fruit and nut epicenter of Central Asia. And fourth, our countries must continue to work together to restructure Afghanistan’s Ministry of Agriculture by recruiting competent professionals, especially in the rural areas where extension agents with technical knowhow and expertise can make a real difference to farmers and herders.
 
The possibility of the turnaround we envision is real. International demand for Afghan agriculture is returning. In Dubai recently, at the region’s biggest food and trade expo, Afghanistan’s tiny stall was overrun with customers from Europe, Africa and the Middle East with orders for dried fruit and nuts. For the first time, Afghan apples and other fresh fruit are being air-freighted to India. Just recently, a Kabul businessman obtained his certification to begin exporting raisins to Europe. And, in what might be the biggest boon to Afghanistan’s agricultural economy thus far, the nation’s first concentrated juice factory opened near Kabul in October 2009, selling out its entire production for 2010 in just six weeks. The plant employs hundreds of Afghans and is planning an expansion so it can continue to ship its products across the globe.  Other similar facilities are being planned across the country.
 
Furthermore, the U.S. and Afghan governments are working with Afghan farmers to introduce new production and post-production technologies, while improving existing crops with enhanced cultivation and seed varieties. American support is helping to develop Afghan grading, packaging and sanitary methods per international standards. And together we are building the infrastructure and opening the transportation routes necessary to get Afghan grains, fruits and nuts to consumers.
 
The Afghan Ministry of Agriculture also needs help to build research and agricultural extension services – from satellite mapping to experts standing in a field teaching farmers. This is an area where USDA’s assistance is crucial. USDA has contributed more than 100 highly-skilled individuals to this effort – foresters, soil and plant scientists, marketing specialists, and water and rangeland specialists – all with a special ability to share their knowledge through demonstration.
 
USDA is partnering with the U.S. Army National Guard, the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, other U.S. federal agencies and, most importantly, Afghans, to solve complex agricultural issues. Moreover, the Afghan government has reorganized its cabinet so that ministries focused on solving the problems facing its rural communities are teamed together: agriculture, electricity, water, construction, and counternarcotics.
 
For 85 percent of the Afghan people, the path to a better job and life for their family is likely to pass through a farm.  That is why, despite the challenges that certainly lie ahead, we are committed to building a better life for the Afghan people by working together to rebuild its once-vibrant agricultural economy.
 
- Tom Vilsack is the United States Secretary of Agriculture and Mohammad Asif Rahimi is the Afghan Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock