Subject: Farm Journal Foundation Hosts Capitol Hill Briefing
From: "Farm Journal Media" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 9 May 2013 21:49:23 +0000 (GMT)

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For = Immediate Release

For more information contact:

Lesly Weber
Di=ector of Government Relations
Phone= (202) 266-0441
E-mail: [email-masked]

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Farm Journal Foundation
= Hosts Capitol Hill Briefing
Bill Gates, Senators Moran and Brown
Ro=nd out Roster of Influential Speakers

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Washington, D.C. (May 9= 2013) — This week, the Farm Journal Foundation's <=>Farmers Feeding the World initiative co-hosted an in=ernational agriculture and food security briefing with th= Senate Hunger Caucus on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. =The agriculture briefing convened Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) = and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate = Hunger Caucus, as well as experts from public, private and nong=vernmental (NGO) sectors, including special guest, Bill G=tes, who addressed an audience of key Congressional staff= administration officials, and industry and civil society=insiders.

The purpose of the =on-partisan educational briefing was to introduce global =ood security issues to members of Congress and staff by p=oviding an overview of international food aid and agricultural = development programs and convening thought leaders for a high-level = discussion about the many innovative ways the agriculture c=mmunity is fighting hunger. The speakers shared their vie=s on the importance of collaboration and the value of inv=sting in agricultural development as a sustainable approa=h to ending hunger and poverty.

= Ambassador Tony Hall, executive director of the Alliance to End = Hunger, moderated the panel where Stephanie Mercier, agricultural = policy consultant and former chief economist on the Senate=Agriculture Committee, discussed the U.S. government's in=ernational food aid and agricultural development programs= many of which will be reauthorized in the 2013 farm bill= Joining Ambassador Hall and Ms. Mercier, Jeff Austin, vi=e president of strategy planning for DuPont Pioneer, prov=ded insight on the business strategy behind DuPont Pionee='s investment in agricultural development in emerging mar=ets, emphasizing the intersection of social and business =bjectives.

Following the pane= discussion, Senators Moran and Brown delivered remarks o= how they came to champion food security issues and share= views on critical components of both the challenge and t=e solution. The three other Senate Hunger Caucus co-chairs and = co-hosts of the briefing were Sen. John Boozman (R-Ariz.), Sen. = Bob Casey (D-Pa.), and Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.).
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The briefing's special guest, Bill Gates= co-chair and trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Found=tion, was the final speaker. Gates addressed his Foundati=n's major commitment to global agricultural development a= one of its key strategies for reducing hunger and povert= worldwide. He emphasized the Foundation's programmatic f=cus on smallholder farmers and investment in agricultural research, = then discussed some of the project results to date. Gates seized= perfectly on a central theme of the briefing when he said= "It's been proven that of all the interventions to =educe poverty, improving agricultural productivity is the=best."

When asked about =he motivation behind the briefing, Andy Weber, chairman o= the Farm Journal Foundation said, "When Farmers =eeding the World set out to leverage the agriculture community's = innovative and philanthropic spirit to fight hunger, we realize= fundraising simply wasn't enough, and that we needed to =oster educational dialogue that would explore agriculture=s capacity to be an essential part of the solution."=br />
Weber, who gave opening remar=s at the briefing, added, "We hope the outcome of to=ay's briefing is a renewed sense of commitment and fresh =ake on how public and private sectors and the NGO community = can work together to maximize the impact of our respective strategies = for ending global hunger."

About = the Farm Journal Foundation
The Far= Journal Foundation is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to=sustaining U.S. agriculture’s ability to serve the vital = needs of a growing world population with education and assistance = focused on the unique interests of people and organizations align=d with U.S. agriculture. The Foundation houses Farm Journal=rsquo;s myriad advocacy initiatives such as the Farmers =eeding the World campaign and elements of the Farm Jour=al Legacy Project. For more information, please visit www.FarmersFeedingtheWorld.org.
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