Thank you, Sam, for that introduction, and for your leadership and partnership on global food security, as well as the partnership of InterAction and all its members on trying to eliminate extreme poverty around the world.

I also want to thank the Office of Senator Bob Casey for hosting us today.  Senator Casey has been an important partner in our work, and I especially wish to thank him for sponsoring – along with Senator Isakson – the Global Food Security Act. 

Similarly, I want to thank Senator Isakson and work of many of his constituents such as the University of Georgia on Feed the Future, Coca-Cola on Water, Care on many aspects of development and humanitarian relief, Delta Airlines on Wildlife Trafficking and countless others. 

At USAID, we are honored to serve as part of an Administration that has placed a strong emphasis on ending global hunger and poverty across the board.  The work of my colleagues Carrie Hessler-Radelet, Director of the Peace Corps, and Jocelyn Brown of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service, who are joining us here today is a testament to that collaboration.

I also want to thank our keynote speaker this morning, Secretary Dan Glickman, Co-chair of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ global agricultural development initiative and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.  The Chicago Council has been a strong partner of Feed the Future since the beginning. 

We are very fortunate to have with us today a few folks who have seen Feed the Future at work from very different lenses. One is a returned Peace Corps volunteer, coming back from Senegal.  Another is a researcher supported through USDA’s Borlaug Fellows program, and, finally, we have a volunteer who offers technical expertise to farmers in developing countries through USAID’s Farmer-to-Farmer program.  They will get to share their perspectives a bit later on in today’s program.

Finally, I want to thank you all for being here today, and for your dedication to the fight against global hunger and poverty.

It’s fitting to have such a diverse group of partners in the room today.  From the very start, Feed the Future has been rooted in partnership, with 11 departments and agencies from across the U.S. Government contributing their expertise, whether in agriculture, diplomacy and trade, development, or scientific innovation.

That’s because the challenges we are up against are too massive and complex for any one agency to handle alone.  That’s true for the U.S. Government as well. With nearly 800 million people going to bed hungry every night, and a population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, we simply cannot eradicate hunger without sustained commitment from the entire global community.

That is why Feed the Future has focused on bringing the right partners to the table.  Through partnerships with top American universities and research institutions all over the world, we are putting the best available evidence and science to work.

We are also working with international organizations and civil society to implement cutting-edge training programs to help farmers raise their yields, and their families’ incomes.

We have also partnered with dozens of countries in order to help them make the critical reforms necessary for fueling agricultural growth.

And, increasingly, we are working closely with the private sector, helping to enable the policy environments and physical infrastructure that foster private investment in agricultural growth.

When all of these powerful forces come together around a shared vision, we can accomplish big things.  And, that’s exactly what we’re doing through Feed the Future.

Today, we are releasing the full Feed the Future Progress Report, which highlights the impressive results achieved in the 2014 Fiscal Year. For example, last year alone, Feed the Future assistance or training reached nearly 19 million households, and helped nearly 7 million farmers gain access to new tools or technologies, from high-yielding seeds to new soil conservation techniques.  

In some of the poorest countries in the world, these programs are helping farmers increase their productivity and fueling agricultural growth, a proven mechanism for reducing poverty. In fact, growth in the agricultural sector is, on average, at least twice as effective at reducing poverty as growth in other sectors.

Our results reflect this.  According to preliminary estimates, Bangladesh has experienced a nearly 16 percent reduction in poverty over the past four years in areas where Feed the future works. Uganda has seen similar cuts in poverty, and in Honduras, Feed the Future beneficiaries saw their average incomes rise more than 50 percent between 2012 and 2014. That helped a fourth of the people there living on less than $1.25 per day rise above the extreme poverty threshold.

We are seeing a similar story unfold in our work to improve nutrition.  Last year, we reached more than 12 million children with nutrition interventions and trained nearly 1.5 million people in child health and nutrition. And, now, new data suggest that Feed the Future can meet one of its ambitious targets of cutting stunting by an average of 20 percent across the zones of influence in our focus countries, with countries like Cambodia leading the way.

As all of you know, not only does this progress save lives, it has an impact that ripples across borders.  Food security is inextricably linked to economic, environmental, and human security.  By helping to sustainably feed communities in developing countries, we are building a foundation to prevent the kind of crises that fuel conflict and instability.  And that also has positive implications for our national security here at home. 

That is why it so essential for us to keep going, and to maintain our relentless focus on delivering real results on behalf of the American people. Achieving results continues to be as urgent as ever.  Yesterday I returned from Malawi where 47% of all children are stunted – we and the Government of Malawi can’t let that continue.  And I’m sure you all know that El Nino is causing millions of people to go hungry this year.  Our efforts are working, our momentum is strong and the U.S. Congress, with the leadership of people such as Senators Isakson and Casey, continues to support this work. But these situations illustrate that the work is far from finished.

Going forward, we must continue to build on decades of U.S. leadership in global food security, and solidify our efforts to make lasting progress against hunger, poverty and malnutrition.  Together, all the U.S. Government agencies and Feed the Future partners, including all of you here today, can help ensure everyone has the nutritious food they need to lead full, healthy lives.

Thank you for inviting me to be here today, and for your continued partnership in our work to empower farmers and families by unlocking the transformative power of agriculture to promote economic growth.  Let’s celebrate the progress and keep working on the challenges!