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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/23/opinion/new-take-on-foreign-aid.html?_r=1&smid=fb-share

New Take on Foreign Aid

Nicholas D. Kristof gets it half right in “Obama’s Fantastic Boring Idea” (column, July 12). It may be fantastic, but it sure isn’t boring. America’s new approach to foreign aid is transformational, not just for the farmers in Africa, but for how America delivers assistance.

Under the leadership of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the United States Agency for International Development, our food security program insists on country ownership, metrics for effectiveness and transparency. It is a shift from only feeding the hungry to providing tools to spur long-term economic growth.

This is the right time for a strategic focus on agriculture development, just as President George W. Bush began with global health. And at a time when Americans are demanding results for their tax dollars, our foreign assistance is working better than ever.

Many African economies are growing at 5 to 7 percent a year, representing enormous potential markets and allies for us. That’s good for Africa and good for America. That’s certainly not boring.

DAN GLICKMAN
Washington, July 12, 2012

The writer, agriculture secretary in the Clinton administration, is chairman of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition.


Eric D. Schwerin
Rosemont Seneca Partners, LLC
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Suite 705
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(202) 333-1880
eschwerin@rosemontseneca.com
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