NEW YORK – The United States Government, along with other G8 members, hosted a side event today at the United Nations General Assembly in New York to announce that Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and Mozambique have joined the G8’s New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition. In addition, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah announced that 21 additional private sector companies, most of them African companies, have signed letters of intent, committing themselves to invest an additional $500 million in African agriculture.

Announced by President Obama at the Camp David G8 Summit last May, the New Alliance is a commitment by G8 nations, African countries, and private sector partners to support agricultural development, with the goal of helping lift 50 million people in sub-Saharan Africa out of poverty in the next 10 years.

In the four months since its announcement, the New Alliance has generated strong global interest, leading to engagement with an expanding list of countries and companies inspired to increase responsible private investment in Africa’s agriculture sector. This builds on the more than 45 local and international private sector companies that originally pledged to invest $3 billion toward partner country-defined food security goals, as countries pledged to create environments that are more conducive to private sector investment.

New Alliance: Progress and the Way Forward featured representatives from New Alliance and G8 countries, as well as the private sector and civil society, to announce the expansion of New Alliance Cooperation Frameworks to Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and Mozambique. Representatives also discussed progress over the past four months in Ethiopia, Ghana and Tanzania, the initial New Alliance countries announced in May. Country Cooperation Frameworks created for each of the countries under the New Alliance describe the vision for partnership and mutual commitments between host country governments, donors and the private sector.

“The G8 has taken decisive steps to increase investments in agriculture and nutrition in order to strengthen global food security and lift millions from poverty,” said USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah. “Through the New Alliance, our partner countries in Africa are working to create an environment that encourages real investment opportunities in agriculture. The United States is proud to support these global efforts through Feed the Future, President Obama’s global hunger and food security initiative.”

About Feed the Future

Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a foundation for lasting progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future is part of the U.S. contribution to broader G8 and G20 commitments to increase investment in agriculture and strengthen global food security. For more information on this Presidential Initiative visit http://feedthefuture.gov.