Event Information

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and measures put in place to stop its spread will have impacts on all intermediate results of the U.S. Government Global Food Security Strategy, including agricultural productivity, livelihoods, markets, trade and policy actions, food consumption and nutrition, hygiene and resilience. The Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD), an advisory committee to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will convene a virtual public meeting to share the thinking of leading experts in food security and nutrition that relates to COVID-19 impacts. This will include consideration of the most promising short-, medium-, and long-term responses across several key areas: farm-level productivity, markets and trade, access to finance, nutrition, safe and hygienic food systems, gender, and national and local policy. The meeting will include presentations of credible modeling data about the scale and breadth of anticipated food security impacts in the developing world and a summary spanning near to longer-term interventions and guidance that may help to mitigate COVID-19 impacts. The meeting will also provide leading sources of curated information (e.g., landing pages for information related to the crisis and response). The meeting is intended to help to support decision making by USAID and its partners and stakeholders working to advance food security, nutrition, and resilience at global, regional and national levels.

BIFAD is a seven-member, presidentially appointed advisory board to USAID established in 1975 under Title XII of the Foreign Assistance Act, as amended. The provisions of Title XII concern bringing assets of U.S. universities to bear on development challenges in agriculture and food security, and the BIFAD’s role is to help carry out this function.

Format: A 2-hour live-streamed meeting, open to the public, with an expert panel and a 20 minute public comment period. The recorded audio and video and minutes to be available in archive form.

Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations: On the basis of testimony, including public comments shared at the meeting, BIFAD will provide formal findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the Agency on best-bet operational and programmatic investments.